Cooking Club Craziness
by moodiful819
Summary: In the emptiness of the high school teacher's lounge, no one can hear your screams when the Naruto crew crashes your cooking club. Only problem is how do you keep them safe and get them home? Slight crack and romance. .:SS, NH, NT, SI, KakaOc, GaaraOc:.
1. Prologue

(819): Okay, so this is my first collab. It's with one of my best friends

(102): YAY!

(819): Muh. Anyway, we've been going to school together since elementary. Scary, ain't it?

(102): :3 You know I can't leave you alone, dahling hug

(819): She does that a lot. Ugh. This is based on a spoof we're doing when we're bored at cooking club, which is EXTREMELY (102: holds up sign reading: _**EXTREMELY!!**_) boring. So, the prologue is just leading to the real chapter. It looks better in the manga. Go look at it. Anyway, R&R.

key: "talking"  
'_thinking'  
_'**inner'**  
_flashback_

Do Not Own Naruto.

* * *

**The Beginning**

"Muh, five bucks for cooking club." groaned a raven-haired girl. She had long hair, stopping at her elbow with it covering part of her face and brown eyes. She wore a black jacket and jeans.

"MY MANGA MONEY!!" cried out her raven-haired friend in dismay. She had brown eyes and long hair like her friend, but she changed her hairstyle often and was a few inches shorter.

"Anyway…come on. They're going to start without us," said the taller of the two.

"HAI Megumi-sama!"

"Muh."

* * *

"Okay, so you two and your friends are in Group 7." said one of the supposed teachers/ possible senior.

A group of people were standing in the teacher's lounge and unlike the tales of yore, no, the teacher's lounge wasn't a spa with a five-star restaurant. In fact, it had 8 foldable tables, six situated in the middle of the room, five microwaves, a toaster oven, two refrigerators, and a broken coffee machine. Unless there was a secret switch the high-schoolers had yet to find, this was the teacher's lounge.

"Hey Amaya," muttered Megumi as she looked up at the second floor which was only the second floor by technicality (there was a flight of stairs leading to where they wore, hence, the teacher's lounge had a second floor). Like the floor on which they stood, it wasn't special. A few chairs, a plant on a wicker table, a few tables, a couch, and a piano were all that were in that room. In the room beside it was for the fundraising parents of the school.

"Hai?" replied Megumi's companion.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" she asked with a smirk.

"Yeah!"

"Team 7!" the two screamed simultaneously as they high-fived. _'I wonder what it's going to be like…' _wondered Megumi.

* * *

(102): whee flying squirrel time!! O.o But srsly. Imma DOG. DOGGY! WOOF!! = Imma ninj0x too :O

Time for Random Fact of teh chappie!!

Don't try finding anything out about me for I have made my information invisible with my invincible chakra prowress ;3 Bwahahhahhhahahhahahahhahah

(819): I seriously think you're on crack. Anyway, my name in the fic is Megumi like my other one and she's Amaya. Don't worry, Naruto characters appear soon.

(The names are now void. They are not us, they're OC's, but we based them on ourselves cuz, you're lying if you don't say your OC's resemble you in some way and it makes thinking up flaws easier.)

(819): Plus, this is practice for my future OC stories.


	2. Chapter 1: Pancakes and Team 7

(819):Sorry for leaving you guys with just the prologue, but plot bunnies attacked me for my other story

(819): Sorry for leaving you guys with just the prologue, but plot bunnies attacked me for my other story. I'm updating!

(102): Don't forget me!

(819): So you managed to escape the loony bin again? Whatever. Just read and review people. (Also, the document formatting was being a butt, so this and possibly future chapters might not follow the key.)

* * *

Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto, so yeah.

* * *

Ch.1: Pancakes and Team 7

Megumi and Amaya were busily scraping away the pancake batter off of the utensils used that day in cooking club when one of the girls turned to her friend. "How'd we get into this frickin' mess again?" Megumi asked.

"Don't you remember?" asked Amaya.

Flashback

Megumi and Amaya had just finished helping one group cook a pancake. "Damn hot plates." muttered Amaya. "Why?" asked one of the juniors.

"The metal coil doesn't heat evenly so the pan suffers the same fate. One part will be scorching hot while another part will be cold, causing uneven heat distribution meaning uneven cooking or browning," explained Megumi coolly.

"Alton Brown!" screamed Amaya.

"Yeah!" exclaimed Megumi, high-fiving the girl with her free hand.

A few minutes later, the instructors called for attention. "Okay, Group 7 is cleaning today."

"What?!" screamed Amaya and Megumi.

"What's wrong?" a girl asked.

"We only have two people today!" they screamed, looking at the mass of pancake batter covered utensils, wondering just how they could've dirtied so many things making a few pancakes (not counting the globs of burnt batter that resulted in failed attempts at making pancakes).

"Fine. Group 8 too."

"What?!" screamed a group of four girls.

"They only have two people. Just help out."

"Fine."

end flashback

"Then they left and we have to clean up our portion and rewash theirs," finished Amaya.

"Great," said Megumi.

Megumi was busy scrubbing a plastic tub when Amaya started to talk. "Hey Megumi-sama."

"Hn?"

"Wouldn't it be cool if the real Team 7 came?"

Megumi chuckled. "It would be awesome if that could happen, but it can't. Can you turn on the sink?" she asked.

"Hai!"

Suddenly, a loud poof followed by an even louder crash was heard. Amaya and Megumi coughed and waved through the cloud of dust. "What happened?" asked Megumi. "Dunno." replied Amaya.

The dust cleared and in the midst of the broken tables was a foot. "Oh my god!" exclaimed Amaya.

"Are you alright?" asked Megumi worriedly.

"Ow…."

Megumi and Amaya's eyes widened. "It can't be."

"But it is," said Amaya.

A blonde head popped out and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Heh heh. Sorry about that."

"Uzumaki Naruto," they uttered disbelievingly. Suddenly, everything went dark for the two girls.

* * *

Megumi shook her head and tried to get up, but immediately fell back down.

"Ow….damn my head hurts." She noticed a blurred hand in front of her and took it. The hand pulled her up. 'It's bigger than mine's and it's calloused. Probably my gym teacher. Only guy I can think of.'

She was led to a chair where she sat and laid her head back. "Megumi-sama!" screamed Amaya, running towards her friend.

"Gah! Shut up! Jeez, my head hurts." she said, shielding her eyes from the bright ceiling lights. "What happened?" she asked dazedly.

"Well, we were cleaning the pancake batter and we heard a crash."

'That's right, we were cleaning that crap. Must mean I'm still in the teacher's lounge.'

"What happened next?" Megumi asked.

"You fainted," explained a new voice.

Megumi's eyes widened. 'It can't be.'

"But it is…Uchiha Sasuke of the Uchiha Clan," she said in wonderment. Megumi slapped her head. "I must be dreaming. Wake up! Wake up!" she screamed at herself.

"I wouldn't keep doing that," said another new voice.

Megumi turned around to the wall behind her. "Hatake Kakashi," she said breathlessly. "Augh," she winced as a jolt of pain surged through her. Maybe bashing her head wasn't such a good idea, after all.

"Don't move. You have a mild concussion. Here," said a new voice.

Megumi felt warm hands hold her head and soon, the pain was gone. "Thanks."

"You're welcome."

Megumi's eyes widened. "Haruno Sakura?!" The pink haired girl looked back, unsure. "Have we met?"

Megumi looked to her friend Amaya. "They're real?"

"Hai Megumi-sama."

"Where are we and who are you?" asked the pink-haired nin.

"Well, I'm Amaya and that's Megumi-sama and you're at our high school in San Francisco, California!"

"You're in America. Just call me Megumi. Megumi-sama is her nickname for me."

'Even though she's the older one,' Megumi thought. The three ninja nodded.

"Where'd Naruto go?" asked Megumi.

"Under that table. After he made you guys pass out, Sakura beat him up for it and he's cowering."

"I'm not cowering, teme, and you'd be under this table too, if she hit you like that!"

"Now, now," said Kakashi. He shifted his gaze to Amaya and Megumi. "Any idea how we got here?" The girls shook their heads. "And I can't radio anyone at home. Guess we're stuck here. Any villages nearby?"

Megumi shook her head. "Civilians and cities, no villages like the ones you're talking about. Ninja haven't been heard from in over 500 years."

"Guess we're stuck in a parallel universe. That would explain why I've never heard of America and why is she sticking a camera in my face?" glared Sasuke.

Megumi sighed. "Amaya, get the digital camera out of his face."

"But--but--but!"

"Do you really want him to Chidori your camera and your ass to oblivion?"

"No, Megumi-sama."

Sakura stole a glance at the raven-haired boy as Amaya walked away and smiled triumphantly. 'Yeah! Stay away from my Sasuke-kun!'

'Megumi, you're alright by me!'

Amaya stuck her camera in Naruto's face. Naruto was still Naruto, black and orange jumpsuit and all, but his face had matured, now looking more and more like his father. "Uzumaki Naruto. Son of the Yondaime. Kyuubi container. Ramen lover extraordinaire. What are your thoughts on our world?" she asked.

Megumi sighed, rubbing her temples. "You're going to put them on Youtube, aren't you?"

"Is she always this strange?" asked Kakashi.

"Usually she's more tame. Hey, where'd she go?"

Kakashi pointed towards Sasuke where Amaya was currently sticking the camera at him. "Uchiha Sasuke. Brother of Uchiha Itachi. Clan avenger. Owner of a massive fanbase. Tomato lover. Tell us something about yourself." Sasuke just glared at her through the lens. "Moving on…"

She set her sights on Haruno Sakura. Sakura had long hair reminiscent of her days as a genin and her eyes were still that beryl color, but behind them was the inner strength she had acquired over the years from her tutelage under Tsunade. "Haruno Sakura. Loves Sasuke. Has immense strength and extraordinary chakra control. Wow, your forehead is big."

"That's it!" Sakura screamed, face red from embarrassment.

"Sakura-chan, stop! She didn't know better!" screamed Naruto. Sakura calmed herself. "Next time, she's going down!" she roared.

Amaya hid behind a stoic Megumi. "Eep!" Amaya turned and faced Kakashi. Ever the unchanging rock of the team, he had managed to stay the same after all those years, with his silver hair, jounin-uniform, and his ever-present mask. "Hatake Kakashi. Copy Ninja. Master of Over 1000 Jutsu. Famed for his Chidori and Thousand Years of Death. Avid reader of Icha Icha. Any words?"

Megumi smacked Amaya over the head. "You're being annoying," she glared. "Come on, we need to finish these dishes. I don't know about you, but I would like to get home by TONIGHT!" Amaya laughed nervously. "Oh yeah."

Naruto climbed out from under the table. "I'll do it. I need to make it up to you two. Sorry for making you faint."

"Sure," they said.

"Kage Bunshin No Jutsu." Five Narutos appeared and started to clean the dishes.

Megumi laid down on the stairs and closed her eyes while Amaya pestered Kakashi. Sasuke came over. His hair seemed to be the same style it was after the time skip. "So how do you know about us?"

Megumi opened one eye. "You're a comic and t.v. series in this world. You're celebrities."

"Hn. More fangirls. How old are you anyway?"

"Seventeen; you?"

"Eighteen," he replied.

"Ah, post-Orochimaru. Didn't find out what happened to you after age 15. Care to tell me?"

"Hn."

"You suck."

"Hn."

"Done!" chorused the Narutos, disappearing into the original.

"We can go home!" exclaimed Megumi. She jumped for joy, but froze mid-air. "What are you guys going to do? You guys can't get back."

"We'll live at the school," replied Kakashi.

"Fine. Eat from the fridges in here and watch for the rats. Oh, watch out for the janitors too."

"Hn."

"Hn."

"Sure," said Naruto.

"Fine," said Sakura.

"K. See ya," said Megumi.

Amaya just waved a lot until Megumi dragged her out the door. Despite their differences, one thought ran through all their minds, 'What are we going to do now?'

* * *

(819): Well, there's the Naruto characters we promised.

(102): chapter one is done! That rhymed!

(819) : Whatever. I'm going to work on my other stories. Later. (walks out door)

(102): (room goes dark.) M-m-Megumi-sama?


	3. Chapter 2: CCC and the Internet

(819): Augh. School is so damn overrated.

(102): Amen.

(819): Well, now that that's over, here's our story. Read and review while we sleep.

(102): Zzzz…

Disclaimer: If we owned Naruto, do you think we'd still be in school? Oh, and the mp3 players belong to their inventors, not us.

* * *

Ch.2: CCC and the Internet

Megumi and Amaya peered into the teacher's lounge. It was already 5:30 and the other cooking club they had joined was over and had already left. Once again, they were the only ones at school, besides the janitors, of course.

Amaya nudged the door wider, which was followed by a scream, a loud slamming sound, and a dull thud on the other side.

Amaya panted heavily against the door while Megumi nudged her aside and pulled open the heavy door and peered on the other side, a kunai jutting out of the wood. She sighed while Amaya hid behind her. "The school isn't going to appreciate this," she said.

Megumi pushed the door wider and Amaya followed her through the door. "Which one of you threw that?" Amaya asked.

Kakashi sat in the rolling chair, absentmindedly twirling a kunai while reading his infamous book. "Never can be too careful."

"So why wasn't another one sent hurdling at us?" asked Megumi.

"Shinobi don't scream," said Sasuke coolly.

Megumi and Amaya merely shrugged and climbed down the stairs to the kitchen area. They slung off their backpacks and set down their books. Digging around the heavy bag, Amaya smiled as she felt something hit her fingers. "Found it."

Naruto popped out of nowhere as she placed the object on the table. "What's that?" he asked.

Megumi pointed to the clear plastic container and Naruto nodded while Sakura, Sasuke, and Kakashi looked on, their curiosity getting the better of them.

"That, would be tupperware," said Amaya proudly.

"And don't eat it, Naruto," shot Megumi.

"Why not?!" he whined.

"First of all, it's plastic. It's inedible," said Amaya.

"Plus, you'd have a hell of a time trying to get that through your esophagus and out your colon." Megumi smirked.

"So what's in it?" asked Sasuke, his curiosity getting the better of him. Megumi glanced at Amaya who nodded. She placed her fingers on the container and lifted the lid. Sasuke, Sakura, Kakashi, and Naruto all peered into the plastic box.

Sakura blinked. "Is that?"

"Yup. Tempura!" screamed Amaya.

Naruto looked wide-eyed into the box. "No ramen?"

"Sorry Naruto. We'll try to get some next time, but you can help yourself to the food we brought this time," apologized Megumi.

"Okay!"

Sasuke looked into the box and studied the contents. 'Broccoli, potatoes, squash, carrot, and…'

"Cucumber?" he asked curiously.

Amaya and Megumi sighed. "Instructor's idea, not ours. We joined another cooking club. CCC. Stands for Cooking, Crafts Club." Megumi said.

"Or we all like to call it, Cooking, Crafts, and Colbert!" they laughed. "But I brought the squash!"

"And I brought some broccoli!" proclaimed Amaya proudly.

"Hn."

Sasuke stared at the box before looking at his blonde friend. "So dobe, seeing how you're not dead yet, it's safe to eat. So how is it?"

Naruto looked up from the box. "It's pretty good!" he said through a mouthful of potato.

Sakura stuck out her tongue. "Naruto, don't talk with your mouth full!" she screamed before popping a piece of broccoli into her mouth.

Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto all crowded around the box while Megumi watched, curious. Amaya placed some tempura on the lid and walked over to Kakashi. "Try some," she smiled.

"No, thank you."

"Aw, come on! Please!"

"No, I'm fine."

"Pl—"

"Amaya, there's no point. Kakashi doesn't like tempura, so stop pestering him and get your ass back here!" scolded Megumi.

"Hai Megumi-sama."

She slapped her forehead. "Again with the -sama thing," she muttered.

Kakashi stared at the two girls before shaking his head. "How do you know that?!"

Megumi stared at him and blinked. "It's on your profile. You can find it on the internet. They have all your profiles, even pictures. They even have pictures of Kakashi without the mask on."

"WHAT?!" screamed Team 7.

"Yeah, I even have one on my ipod. Wanna see?"

Team 7 looked at the girl strangely. "What's an 'ipod'?" asked Sasuke, his fingers motioning in the classic "air quotes" fashion.

"It's a music/media player. Mine can play music, videos, and can hold photos," Megumi explained.

"Personally, I think the Zune is better," Amaya interjected.

"Whatever, just show us the damn picture," Sasuke snapped.

Team 7 all crowded around Megumi as she pulled out an ipod and turned it on. She flipped through it before showing the screen to the curious shinobi. They all gasped.

"Whoa, sensei looks hot! Hotter than Sasuke!" exclaimed Sakura.

Sasuke glared at her as he flinched from the blow to his male ego and stalked off. Sakura turned back worriedly. "Sasuke-kun, I'm sorry. It just—"

SLAM!

Sasuke holed himself into the parent's meeting area as Sakura looked at him, biting her lip guiltily.

"You really love him, don't you, Sakura-chan?"

"Six years and counting, Naruto," she smiled sadly.

Megumi turned off her ipod when she felt a wave of murderous intent behind her back. She turned around. "Eep! K-Kakashi-san, what can I do for you?" she asked nervously as a glaring Kakashi towered over her.

"Where'd you get that picture?"

"I-internet."

"I must destroy this 'Internet,'" he muttered. Megumi shook her head. "It's impossible. Believe me. People have tried."

"Hn. So what do you think?"

Megumi snapped her head behind her. "What do I think about what?"

"That picture. What do you think about my looks? I'm curious."

"Megumi-sama thinks that you're—Mph!"

Megumi laughed nervously as she clamped her hand around her friend's mouth. "Shut up, Amaya!" she glared. Suddenly, Megumi shivered and threw Amaya away from her. "What's wrong?" Naruto asked.

Megumi made a disgusted face as she wiped her hand on her jeans. "She licked me," she shuddered. Amaya just smiled innocently while Megumi glared. "I hate you."

"What?! No, Megumi-sama! Don't hate me!"

"Hn."

Naruto scratched his head as he watched the two girls. 'Man, she acts just like Sasuke sometimes.'

Megumi and Amaya cleaned the box and grabbed their things. They shrugged on their backpacks and started up the stairs. "See you next time!" they yelled.

"Bye Megumi-chan! Bye Amaya-chan!"

"Yeah! See ya guys!" smiled Sakura.

"Hn," replied Megumi, the word only to be echoed back by a solemn Sasuke.

Megumi and Amaya giggled and walked through the door, hearing it close behind them and the lights above shut off.

They walked through the empty halls in silence when Megumi turned to Amaya. "You know…"

"Nani?"

"We should probably get Sakura and Sasuke together. I mean, haven't you noticed how Sasuke acts around her?"

"You mean now or in the series?"

"Both. It's hinted in the series. First part anyway, but when we were in there, he has this sad look in his eyes when he looks at her. Have you noticed?"

"Hai, but what was with the slight fangirlness when we first met them?"

"Dunno, I guess when the shock of being in a new place caused her to regress back. I think it's a one-time thing. So, you with me?"

"Hai! But you know…"

"Hm?"

"I wonder if it'll work?"

Megumi looked solemnly at the floor. "I hope so, Amaya. I really hope so."


	4. Chapter 3: Spaghetti! No Ramen!

(819): Yup, back from story hiatus

(819): Yup, back from story hiatus.

(102): And I'm just, back. Sexyback!

(819) LOL!

(102): You guys need to review more! Reviews pictures!

(819): Yeah, so will you please review?

Note: We despise that song and only see it as a form of humor. :D

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. She doesn't own Naruto. We both don't own Naruto. (Or Sexyback, not that we'd even want to and if we did, it'd be for the money only).

* * *

Ch.3: Spaghetti! No Ramen!

Amaya and Megumi collapsed tiredly onto the tables as Team 7 just stared at them.

"Did you get me the ramen?" Naruto asked.

"No," said Megumi tiredly.

Sakura poked the two. "Man, what happened to you?"

"School, tests, and cooking club," they responded flatly.

Amaya and Megumi pushed themselves from the table and dropped their backpacks on the floor before collapsing back on the tables.

Naruto blinked. "What about cooking club?"

The girls glared at the ceiling. "The people there are wusses," they spat.

"How?"

Megumi glared at Naruto. "Okay, so we were making spaghetti today and we had to check the pasta. They couldn't find anything to eat the pasta with so we could check it. I fished a strand out with the wooden spoon and ate it with my hand and they were all, 'Ewww! Is your hand even clean?' and we were all, 'Well, we don't have anything to eat it with or even fish it out properly.'

And then they handed us a fork."

Naruto blinked. "What was wrong with the fork?"

Amaya glared at the table. "It was plastic. If you use it to cook with hot food, they'll melt and if you eat the food with the melted fork or the melted plastic on the food, you get cancer." She laughed. "Cancer forks!"

"Cancer forks!" agreed Megumi laughingly. "Cancer cookies!" she screamed as they burst into laughter.

Team 7 stared at them. 'Are they bipolar?'

"Hn. So what'd you guys bring this time?" Sasuke asked.

They fished through the backpacks and placed on the table some dried pasta and some jars of tomato sauce.

"Tomato sauce?" asked Sakura.

Sasuke nodded. "Tomatoes."

Naruto poked the bag of pasta. "What is that? Some new ramen or something?"

"That's spaghetti. It's pasta."

"What's pasta, Megumi-chan?"

"Noodles."

"What about ramen?"

"We didn't get the ramen today. No time."

"But--but!"

"Deal with it," snapped Megumi and Amaya, a murderous aura around them. Amaya dug around the lounge as Megumi fiddled with the portable burner. She cursed. "Dammit. Work! Work!"

Nothing.

"Troublesome," she muttered. She was not in the mood for this.

Sasuke sighed. "Here. Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!"

A large fireball came out of his mouth and Megumi ducked out of the way. "Ah!" The fireball sparked the gas and erupted upwards before disappearing.

Megumi peered timidly over the edge of the table and blinked. A smile appeared on her face as she saw the fire was lit. "That was so cool!" she exclaimed. Sasuke smirked arrogantly before walking back to his chair. Megumi adjusted the fire before putting the pot of water on it to boil and sat beside Amaya on the stairs.

They both peered up at the ceiling. "You know what I just realized?" asked her friend.

"What, Amaya?"

"Why didn't the sprinkler system go off? A fireball that big had to do something to the smoke detector."

"Well, they might be broken. You know how little money the school board gives to each school. We're just lucky it didn't set fire to everything else." Megumi smiled.

"But we can dream." Amaya joked and they both laughed.

* * *

Amaya and Megumi lay on the table staring at the ceiling bored out of their wits.

"Whatcha doing?" asked a certain blond.

"Hi Naruto-kun. Just staring at the ceiling," they chorused.

"Why?"

"Bored."

"Why don't you guys tell me a little about yourself then? You practically know everything about us and we barely know anything about you."

"Okay."

They sat up on the tables and crossed their legs. Dusting off themselves, they placed their hands in their laps. "So what do you wanna know?" asked Amaya.

"I dunno. Describe yourselves. Anything. Likes, dislikes, dreams, hobbies, that sort of stuff," he responded.

The girls smirked. "Alright."

"Amaya."

"Megumi."

"Last name…we don't feel like telling you. We're the kind of people who don't feel like talking about their likes or dislikes. Our dreams for the future are none of your business, but we have lots of hobbies," they chorused. Sakura was trying her best to hold in her laughter and Sasuke let out a chuckle as Kakashi tightened his hold on his book, glaring kunai at the two.

Naruto scratched his head. "That sounds familiar. Where have I heard it before?"

"Hn. Dobe. That's what Kakashi told us about himself when we first met him."

"Oh yeah. Thanks, teme!"

"Hn."

"Hahaha!"

"I don't find that funny at all, Sakura." Sakura stopped her laughter at his warning tone and the girls sighed. "Kakashi-san, it's just a joke." He merely grunted.

"Fine, we'll tell you about ourselves—for real this time," conceded Amaya.

"You start, Amaya."

"Hai Megumi-sama. My name is Amaya. Last name's a secret. I like conventions, manga, Youtube, Miyavi (or any J-rocker for that case, but him the most), my camera, and my friends. I dislike math, social studies, and my stepmother. Damn bitch. My goal is to become a manga-ka."

"Megumi. Last name…information withheld. I like manga, anime, art, writing, reading, music, my friends, and sushi. I dislike homework, math, my stupid cousin, and doing things against my will. My goal, I…don't really know for sure, getting into and passing college and getting a job probably, but my hobbies include songwriting, fanfiction, drawing, and reading manga."

Team 7 nodded and Naruto smiled. "Cool!" The girls nodded and Megumi turned towards the pot with steam escaping its sides. "Water's boiled."

Megumi walked over to the pot and dumped in the pasta and Amaya dumped in the jars in her pot. She was on her last one when it got stuck. "Megumi, can you help me?" She looked up from her pasta and walked over. She tried to twist the lid off, but no luck. "You hold the top while I twist the bottom, k?"

Amaya nodded and did as she was told. Megumi twisted the bottom and a loud pop sound was heard. "Thanks," Megumi nodded and returned to her pasta and placed the lid back on.

* * *

Kakashi watched the girls work over the top of his book. 'Teamwork, eh?' He shrugged and went back to reading when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He looked up. "Huh?"

Before him was a pair of bright brown eyes. "Kakashi-san, what do you like about these books so much?" Megumi asked, prodding the orange spine of his favorite (though questionable) literature.

"You're seventeen, right?"

"Yup, turning eighteen in October."

"Then I can't tell you."

"Why not?"

He tapped the cover of the little orange book. "See that small thing here?" he said pointing to a small red circle with a slash through it.

"Yeah."

"What does it say?"

"18+"

"And that's why."

"Kakashi-san, I may be seventeen, but I'm mature for my age. I'm pretty sure I've seen worse. Besides, my birthday isn't far away."

"That may be, but you're still seventeen by law, now go check on the pasta. I think its boiling over."

Megumi turned her head over her shoulder and saw the lid bounce up as white foam spilled out. "Ah!" She pushed her hands from their place on Kakashi's legs and ran over to the pot. 'How come I didn't notice her hands on my legs? Must have just slipped my mind.'

He watched as the girl called her friend over in an attempt to lift the heavy pot to the sink. They placed a hand on pot handles and immediately snatched their hands back and blew on them. 'Must have burned themselves.' He sighed and put down his book before crossing the room. "Here. Let me do it," he said as he grabbed the pot and walked over to the sink, pouring the water out. He peered over his shoulder as he rinsed the noodles. "You might want to have Sakura check that out."

Megumi shook her head. "We're fine, really. This happens a lot."

"Alright, but I still want Sakura to look at it."

"Fine."

The girls walked over to Sakura who was staring at the Uchiha as he dozed in the chair against the wall, a sad, longing look in her distant eyes. Amaya looked into her face. She tapped her shoulder. "Sakura-san?"

A voice brought Sakura from her thoughts. "Yes?"

"Kakashi-san told us to have you check our burns."

"Burns?" They stuck their hands up and a small red blotch rested on each of their palms. "How'd that happen?" she asked focusing chakra to her hand.

"Hot pot." explained Megumi.

The chakra glowed against their skin, healing it, and they thanked her before walking back to the vacant table, Kakashi already reading his book again. They poured the pot of sauce into the pot of pasta and mixed it. Fishing out plates and utensils from their backpacks, they placed them on the table and served their friends.

* * *

"So how is it, Naruto-kun?" asked Megumi as she twirled her fork into the nest of noodles.

He looked up and slurped a noodle. "It's not ramen, but it's still good."

"Sasuke-san?" asked Amaya.

"Hn."

"He says it's good, but that's probably because it has tomatoes," smiled Sakura.

"Hn."

Megumi smiled and turned her head. "Kakashi-san! You don't have your mask on!"

"Well, seeing how there are pictures of me without my mask on, there's no point in me trying to keep it a secret from my teammates."

"So you'll still wear it?"

"Hn."

Sakura smiled at the friendly exchange before turning her sight to Naruto. "Naruto! You have sauce on your face!"

Naruto blinked as a noodle was slurped into his mouth. "Where?" Sakura chuckled and grabbed a napkin, wiping it off his cheek.

Sasuke glared at the two. 'Why is she doing that? Didn't she hate him when we were younger?'

'A lot of things can change in a few years.'

'Who are you?'

'The inner you. Like a conscience and trust me, you really need one.'

'Feh.'

'So Sasuke, how does it feel being jealous?'

'Of who? Dobe? Why would I be jealous of him over Sakura?'

'Because she's paying attention to Naruto, instead of you.'

'Hn. I'm glad. He can have the fangirl.'

'She's not a fangirl. Like I said, a lot of things can change in a few years. Think about it.'

* * *

Megumi and Kakashi were washing the pots as Amaya talked and interviewed the rest of Team 7, camera in hand.

Megumi looked past Kakashi to see her friend pester Sasuke to delve into further detail before returning to her task, shaking her head and chuckling.

"What's wrong?"

She looked up at Kakashi, a small smile on her face. "Amaya's at it again."

"Hn."

Kakashi stuck his arm up and brushed his face against his arm to roll up his sleeve, causing his mask to fall. He heard giggling come from his side and looked down at the girl. "What's wrong now?"

She calmed herself. "You have tomato sauce on your face," she smiled.

"Huh?"

She smiled and pumped the contraption beside her for a paper towel. She wet it before tiptoeing and wiped the red stain from Kakashi's face. "There." He nodded in thanks and they resumed their duties.

* * *

Amaya and Megumi yawned tiredly. "Well, we're going to leave now, bye!" Various byes were heard and the girls left the school, the sun setting in the distance.


	5. Chapter 4: We Have Company

(819): yawn I'm tired

(819): yawn, I'm tired. Stupid finals are coming up.

(102): Don't forget self-scheduling.

(819): Oh yeah. Damn.

(102): Why aren't you people reviewing more? Don't you want pictures? My poor unused tablet!

(819): (rolls eyes) Whatever. I'm gonna get some sleep. Later.

(102): O.O! What?! Well, review people. Megumi-sama! Wait for me!!

**Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto or Ouran High School Host Club. **

* * *

Ch.4: We Have Company

The sound of zippers rang through the room as the last two members of Cooking Club stepped up the gray steps and walked out the heavy door.

Megumi and her friend walked in circles for a few minutes around their large school and stood in front of the teacher's lounge door. They were about to enter when the door opened by itself. The girls leaped back and watched as a head popped out. "Hi girls."

The girls stared incredulously at the senior. "Gah! What are you doing here?"

She shrugged. "I forgot something and you did too," she said, dragging the two girls into the room.

The gray steps passed under their feet as they descended into the downstairs area. The senior paused at the cluster of tables in the middle of the room and pointed at a book. "You forgot that," she said cheerfully.

Her captives followed her finger to the manga lying on the table. "Ouran High School Host Club volume 8?" Megumi swung her backpack to rest on her thigh as she looked inside, sifting through binders and papers before extracting her hand and zipping up the bag. "Yup. That's mine." she said, grabbing the book and tucking it under her arm. The girl smiled. "Oh, and there're these people here. I think they were looking for you."

Megumi and her friend looked back to see Team 7 smiling at the back of the room with the exception of Sasuke who held his stoic mask in place. The girls prickled at the next comment.

"Why are they dressed like Naruto characters?"

Megumi and her friend quickly appeared at Team 7's side and tugged on their sleeves. "Follow our lead," they whispered.

They smiled and laughed. "They're cosplayers!" laughed Megumi.

"Why are they here?" the girl asked.

"We're practicing for the sakura festival next year," answered her friend.

"Why so early? It's still September."

"We want to get it perfect," blurted Naruto.

The girl shot a scrutinizing gaze at the group before shrugging. "Okay," she said as she slung her bag onto her shoulder. "Good luck," she said before leaving the room, the door closing behind her.

Team 7 and the girls all sighed in relief. "That was close," said Sakura.

"Why'd you show yourselves?!" screamed Megumi. Sasuke shrugged. "We thought it was you and Amaya."

Megumi nodded, giving a small 'Ah' in response. She watched her friend run over to the sink for the recently cleaned pot and walked over. On the other side of the room, she heard Naruto yell. "What are you guys making this week?"

Amaya looked over her shoulder. "Rice krispies."

Team 7 blinked in confusion. "Rice krispies? What are they?"

Megumi and Amaya stared at their friends. "You don't know rice-krispies?!" Team 7 shook their heads collectively.

Megumi and Amaya ran to Naruto and Sakura, tugging their arms as they pulled them towards the heating pot.

"You have to try some!" Amaya exclaimed as she poured some marshmallows into the pot, melted butter on the bottom to prevent burning.

The four stared into the pot as Kakashi and Sasuke walked towards the group, wondering what was so interesting.

Amaya held the pot handles as Megumi stirred the marshmallows. "Naruto, can you get that box?"

Naruto blinked and looked beside him to see a box of generic cereal. He picked it up and shook it. "You mean this?" Amaya nodded and beckoned him over with a toss of her head.

Sakura watched as Amaya opened the box. The bag opened as Amaya pulled the plastic and poured the cereal into the pot, the cereal clinking against the metal sides. They watched as Amaya held the pot and Megumi struggle to stir the mixture. A few minutes later and a glob was spooned onto a plate.

Team 7 stared uneasily at the supposed food item. "Is it edible?" asked Kakashi over his book.

"Yes."

"Is it sweet?" shot Sasuke, glaring at the food disapprovingly as the girls nodded.

Naruto moved around the table, studying the food item before standing, leaning his hands on the table for support. "Is it any good?"

Megumi and Amaya shrugged. "That's for you to decide," they chorused.

Sakura stood silently, studying the mystery item on the white paper plate as her friends stared at it cautiously, afraid it might attack. _'Wonder if it's any good?'_

'**Don't know. Is it safe?' **

'_It has to be. They made it for all of us to share.'_

"I'll try it," voiced Sakura as she reached forward over the table edge. "Don't, Sakura-chan!" Naruto screamed, but it was too late, Sakura had already ripped off a piece and had swallowed it.

Kakashi, Sasuke, and Naruto stared at Sakura wide-eyed as she played with the taste that was left in her mouth. "Well?" they asked.

Sakura smiled. "It's good," she said as she licked the gooey marshmallow off her fingertips, unaware of the eyes trained on her action.

Sasuke watched as Sakura placed a finger into her mouth before pulling it out again with a small 'pop', finding the room hotter than it was a few seconds ago. He mentally slapped himself. _'Stop it.'_ he scolded himself.

'**Sasuke's a pervert!' **sang his inner happily.

'_Hn. Am not.' _

'**Yeah, and I'm the tooth fairy.'**

'_Hn. I'm not a pervert.' _

'**Then explain the blush on your face.' **

"Huh?" Sasuke placed a hand on his pale cheek to find a tinge of warmth. "Oh crap."

Sakura looked up worriedly from her sugary treat to Sasuke as he stood away from the group, a hand to his face. "Sasuke-kun, are you alright?"

"Fine," He retorted.

Sakura crossed the room and placed a hand to his forehead, looking up at him seeing how he was about half a head taller than she was.

Sasuke watched as she furrowed her brows in concentration. "You feel a bit warm, Sasuke-kun. You better sit down. I'll get you some water."

"Hn," replied Sasuke as he sat on the couch upstairs.

"Probably the crappy conditions in here. Wouldn't be surprised at any of you getting sick seeing how there are holes in the ceiling." said Megumi as she pointed the gaps in the ceiling, dust hanging from the edges. She lifted her finger higher. "Look, you can see the insulation and the pipes and everything."

Kakashi looked up from his book and quickly returned it to his hentai. "Hn."

* * *

The sound of water running stopped as Sakura turned off the faucet, a glass of water in her hands. She walked steadily, her paces even and stopped in front of the couch upstairs. "Here, Sasuke-kun," she said as she offered the glass.

Sasuke opened his eyes and propped himself up on his elbows. "Hn. Thanks," he said as he took the glass and brought it to his lips.

Sakura smiled. "It's no problem. Call me if you need anything."

"Hn."

He watched as she walked away from him and disappeared down the steps. He set the glass on the piano next to the couch and stared up at the ceiling, his hands clasped and resting on his stomach. "Hn. When'd she change?" he muttered to himself.

'**When you left her on that bench unconscious after she confessed her love for you.'**

Sasuke scoffed. _'Feh. She was only 12. What would she know about love?'_

'**Obviously more than you.'**

Sasuke glared at the ceiling. _'What'd you expect after Itachi massacred our family? That my life was going to be a bed of roses? Fat chance. That bastard's going to pay.'_

'**But there's no way that's going to happen now that you're trapped in a parallel dimension.' **

'_Hn.'_

'**But seriously, did you expect her to stay the same after that? That she would just stay a genin and fawn over you and cry until you return?' **

'_It was most likely.'_

'**I'm surprised. While everyone is changing around you, you're choosing to stay the same. So set in your ways as an avenger that you won't allow love for other people.'**

'Have you ever thought about me?! That maybe it's not that I won't love other people, but I can't?! I don't want the hurt that comes with love!'

"I don't want to be hurt again." he whispered.

'**Then you're better off dead. It's part of being alive. Loving, being loved, hurting, being hurt. It's all a part of life.'**

'_Hn. I'll never feel any love._'

'**Sasuke.'** his inner pleaded.

'But I'll admit, Sakura's a bit more tolerable now.'

'…**it's a start.'** And Sasuke smirked.

* * *

Sasuke was sleeping peacefully when a low rumble followed by a loud crash jolted him awake. He bolted upright, jumped, and crouched into a defensive position where his comrades were, kunai in hand. "Are we under attack?" he asked through the cloud of smoke.

Sakura and Naruto coughed, waving away the smoke. "You can open your eyes now," droned a male voice.

Megumi cracked open her eyes and noticed her arms wound around a neck. Below her, she felt warm hands holding her weight. The smoke cleared and she was staring at a masked face. she put two and two together and immediately unhooked her arms. "Sorry," she apologized as Kakashi let her down. "No problem." he said as he stuck his nose into his book, a kunai twirling on his finger.

Megumi walked over to Amaya and looked at the crash site. "Why were you in his arms?" her friend asked.

"I got scared, okay?!" she hissed.

Amaya blinked. "Wow…Megumi-sama…_scared_?"

"Oh, grow up." Megumi crouched down and noticed something under the splintered table. "Sand?"

Suddenly, Amaya and Megumi were jerked back as spikes shot out through the cloud of smoke.

"Hello Kazekage-sama," greeted Kakashi letting go of the two girls' shirts.

Amaya and Megumi looked to each other. "Kazekage-sama? Does that mean it's…"

"Gaara!" exclaimed Naruto, grinning ear-to-ear.

The last of the smoke started to disappear and Gaara waved away a wisp near his face before nodding. Megumi and Amaya stared at the Kazekage in awe. His red hair had not changed and neither had his garb or the gourd on his back. _'He looks like he did after the timeskip,'_ they thought.

Gaara flicked his turquoise gaze to the two girls and they bent over, bowing. "H-h-hello," they stuttered.

Naruto bent over to look at the two girls. "What are you guys doing?"

They quickly straightened. "He's an important person. The only other important person we've met is the Hiroshima survivor who came to speak a few years back," they chorused.

"He shook my hand," said Megumi dreamily.

"And I met CLAMP," sighed Amaya, a distant look in her eyes. Naruto stared at the two girls before shrugging. "Hey Gaara, what brings you here?"

"Don't know. I was in the search looking for you guys when I walk into this area of the forest and next thing I know, I'm here."

'_Wow, he gets really talkative. Must be Naruto's influence,'_ Amaya and Megumi thought.

"You've been looking for us?" asked Sakura.

"You've been missing for about a month," he explained.

"That's how long you've been here. At least we know that time is the same, no matter which universe you're in." said Megumi. _'At least, I hope so.'_

Amaya watched as Gaara and Naruto went into a discussion about what had happened in their absence when she felt a finger tap her shoulder. She turned. "Megumi-sama?" Her friend leaned into her ear. "Wasn't he the character that you said you liked? The one you said that you wanted to give a cookie to and hug and comfort?" she whispered in a curious tone.

There were many things that could've come from that. Amaya could've slapped her friend, shrieked, countered with an embarrassing secret of her friend, the list goes on and on, but it didn't include what happened next.

Amaya burned crimson and turned slowly to her friend with eyes the size of flying saucers. "Y-y-you still remember that?"

"Gee. Known you since elementary school, insanely good memory, and let's not forget the fact you kept saying it over and over all of high school. Gee, Amaya, I don't know, you tell me."

"Gomen, Megumi-sama."

"It's alright. You know how bitchy I get with sleep-deprivation," she said punctuating the statement with a groggy rub of her eyes.

"Oh yeah…" she said as she watched her friend yawn tiredly.

"I'm going to read. Tell me when you're ready to leave," she said.

"Hai."

Amaya watched her friend retrieve her manga and lean against the wall before pulling out her digital camera. She turned it on and walked shyly to Gaara's side before shrieking as sand

barbs were held mere centimeters away from her face.

"Gaara! Lay off, will ya? She's a friend of ours, okay?"

"Hn."

Gaara regarded Amaya carefully. Her raven-colored hair went down to her waist and her eyes were a medium-brown color. She was shorter than her friend was, but slimmer. "Hn. What do you want?"

"An interview," she said nervously.

"Hn."

Amaya watched as he closed his eyes in thought, probably debating about whether to grant her request or not. She watched his eyes open and stare down at her. "What do you want to know?" he asked coolly and she smiled brightly.

* * *

Amaya bounced happily towards the other side of the room. _'Wow, I found out so much.'_

"Megumi sa—" She skidded to a halt and positioned her camera to her eye. _'This is too good to pass up.' _

Against the wall were Megumi and Kakashi with their nose in their books, back against the wall and leaning into the print as a foot rested against the wall. "Hey!" Kakashi and Megumi looked up simultaneously and were blinded by a flash.

"Ack!"

"Sorry Megumi-sama," she laughed as she held the camera.

"Don't talk to me," she hissed as she rubbed her eyes furiously. "Dammit Amaya!"

"But—but—but—"

"I don't care. Gah, my eyes have enough problems with me looking into the sun so much," she said as she blinked the spots from her eyes.

"Sorry Megumi-sama."

"Hn."

"Wanna see the photo?"

"Hn. Sure," she said, shrugging her shoulders. She could never stay mad long for some reason; maybe her short-attention span was to blame.

Amaya walked over to Kakashi and Megumi and turned the camera. "See, you looked so kawaii!" she grinned.

"I don't see how that's kawaii," said Kakashi flatly.

"Of course it's kawaii! You two were both doing the same thing at the same time. That can be classified as kawaii."

Sakura peered over Amaya's shoulder while Sasuke just stood in an empty space. "Aw…that's so kawaii!" she smiled.

Sasuke looked at the camera and smirked. "Pretty soon she'll be reading Icha Icha just like him." Megumi stared wide-eyed at him, embarrassment and mortification etched on her face while Kakashi narrowed his eyes. "Hahaha. Very funny, Sasuke," he said, a 'shut-the-fuck-up-or-I'll-make-you' look on his face.

"Hn."

Amaya shook her friend awake and Megumi blinked. "Sasuke, never say that to me again."

"Hn. Can't take a joke?"

"I can, it's just--Ugh. Forget it. Amaya, come on. It's getting late. You guys fill Gaara in."

"Hn."

Team 7 and their new arrival watched as the girls packed up and walked over to the door. "Be safe getting home!" yelled Naruto. The girls smiled. "We will. Bye guys," they replied and the door clicked shut, the sound echoing in the silence.


	6. Chapter 5: Pudding For Everyone

(819): I got nothin to say. You?

(102): Ummmmm……nope.

(819): K. Oh, I made a mistake. Apparently we agreed the ages of 17 and 18. I guess I forgot, so the chapters before will be reposted after editing. And in response to Riku's review, the whole KakaMegumi pairing wasn't my idea this time, it was my collab partner and I stupidly agreed. That's what you get for being apathetic and listening to your friend talk, nodding occasionally. Luckily, I can get my revenge later.

(102): Nani?!

(819): My little secret.

(819/102): You know the drill.

**Disclaimer: We don't own Naruto. There. **

* * *

Ch.5: Pudding for Everyone! (Happy Birthday Kakashi!)

Megumi and Amaya walked down the stairs, sharing a fit of giggles. Megumi looked over to her friend. "Hey Amaya."

"What?"

"Pudding," she responded, sending her friend into a fit of laughter.

This continued as they reached the bottom of the stairs and walked over to the table, placing a plastic bag on the table and dropping their backpacks. They reached into their backpacks for various items. Megumi took out a binder and Amaya took out two boxes of pound cake.

Megumi turned to her friend. "Pudding?" she asked.

Amaya opened the plastic bag on the table and fished around, extracting a bunch of bananas and two boxes of instant chocolate pudding. "Pudding!" she exclaimed.

"Pudding."

"Pudding."

"Pudding."

"Pudding."

"Pudding."

"Pudding?" asked Naruto curiously. Megumi and Amaya turned to Naruto, then smiled between the two of them and smiled at him. "Pudding."

"Pudding?"

"Pudding," they responded cheerfully.

"Pudding."

"Pudding."

"Pudding."

"Pudding."

"Pudding."

"Pudding."

"Pudding."

"Pud—"

"Stop saying that, Naruto!" bellowed Sakura. Naruto turned to face the extremely annoyed girl and blinked innocently. "Saying what? Pudding," he blurted.

"That!"

"That what? Pudding."

"Stop it!"

"Stop what? Pudding."

"THAT!"

"That what?! Pudding."

Sakura's patience was hanging by a microscopic thread. _'Now now, Sakura. Patience. Remember what Tsunade-sensei taught you. Calmly breathe in and out and go to your happy place.'_

"Breathe in, and exhale slowly," she said as she took a calming breath and calmed. It seemed to have worked until Naruto blurted out the accursed word. "Pudding."

"Argh!"

"Sakura-chan? Pudding."

"Stop saying it, Naruto! And don't even try to ask what," she said as he raised a finger and took a breath. "I'll tell you right now what I want you to stop saying and that's pudding."

"Pudding?"

"Pudding."

"Pudding?"

"Yes dammit! Pudding. P-u-d-d-i-n-g! Pudding! Pudding. Argh! Dammit, now you've got me saying it! Pudding," she yelled.

Naruto blinked and his face contorted in confusion. "Huh?"

Sasuke, Gaara, and Kakashi appeared from their hiding spots and stood in front of the group.

"What's pudding?" asked Kakashi and Sasuke.

Megumi and Amaya turned to each other and tapped a finger on their chins.

"Pudding is…pudding is…"

"It's something you can eat," explained Amaya.

"What's it like?" asked Sasuke.

"Well, it's a bit complicated. It's better if we show you," replied Megumi.

Amaya went over to the sink and grabbed a bowl from the rack while Megumi opened the pudding boxes, an audience around her. "First, we add the powder into the bowl," she said pouring the boxes of powder into the bowl.

"Then you add milk and you whisk it," Amaya continued as she poured milk into the powder and started whisking it with the whisk from the bag. "After a few minutes, this will become chocolate pudding."

"This? Why not 'it?'" asked Gaara.

She blushed. "W-well…there are different flavors like vanilla, butterscotch, etc."

"Aa."

A strange sound had the shinobi poised to attack. They flicked their gaze to Megumi as she stared innocently back at the group as her left hand rested lightly on the now-closed freezer door. "Um…the cake needed to get cold again." The group relaxed their stance and Megumi walked over. "Sorry," she apologized receiving various nods of understanding and acceptance of her apology.

She walked over to her binder and poised herself over the object. She pulled a pencil from her pocket and placed it in her right hand. The scratching of the pencil on paper was heard when it suddenly paused. _'September…September…September…' _

"Amaya, what day is it?"

"The fifteenth," she replied. "Thanks." She scratched the number on her homework when she froze. "Fuck!" she cursed.

She patted herself down and sighed momentarily in relief when she felt her wallet. She turned to Amaya. "I just remembered that I needed to get something important! Be right back." Amaya nodded and watched her friend leave, the door closing slowly behind her.

* * *

Amaya had just set the pudding into the refrigerator and started to cut the bananas when she heard the door slam open. A black blur raced down the stairs, jumping the last few, and paused in front of her, slamming an object onto the table and panted heavily.

"What happened to you?" asked Sasuke.

Megumi simply lifted her head, her hair falling back as she lifted her hand away. Sakura moved in closer and cocked her head to the side. "Candles?"

"Kakashi-san's birthday," she panted as she moved to the freezer and retrieved a cake. She opened the cake's packaging before working on the candles and poked them into the cake before offering it to Kakashi. "Happy birthday," she managed through her labored breathing, the numbers 3 and 2 jutting from the yellow food item. He stared at the cake as he felt it placed in his open palms, confusion playing on his mind.

"How'd you know it was my birthday?" he asked.

"Internet."

Kakashi watched her leave. _'Why would she do that? We just met. The only people who do this sort of stuff for me are the other jounin and Team 7, so why did she do it for me? A near-complete stranger?'_

He must have been staring because the next thing in his range of vision was a blurred hand.

"Oi! Sensei! You in there?"

"Hn." he glared as he grabbed Naruto's still waving hand. "What do you want?"

"Cut your cake before I take it from you and eat it."

"Hn. You can have it," he said removing the candles and placing the cake in the blonde's hands, stealthily pocketing his multi-colored souvenirs.

Naruto stared after his ex-teacher. _'What's bugging him?' _he thought before turning his sights at the sweet in his hands. "Cake!" he screamed only to be silenced with a knock to the head.

"Dobe. If he's going to be rude and not eat it, then give it back to them," Sasuke scolded.

"Shut up, teme!" he said, walking over to the table and depositing the treat on the table and leaving, the cake basking in the fluorescent lights above.

* * *

"Phew, done," said Amaya as she finished slicing the bananas.

"Done here too," said Megumi as she held the sliced cake from the freezer. The shinobi all crowded around as they watched the girls meticulously placed a layer of pudding and banana on each slice.

Minutes ticked by and they were soon finished. "Done," they exclaimed holding up 10 cake slices for presentation. Naruto hesitantly reached forward and grabbed a slice and popped the entire thing into his mouth.

Sasuke looked at him. "Well, dobe?" His response was the sudden grabbing of six more slices and running over to the corner to enjoy his catch. Sakura blinked and shrugged it off as Naruto being Naruto and grabbed a slice of her own, Sasuke and Gaara grabbing the other two.

On the other side of the room, Megumi and Amaya were conversing over the rejected birthday cake. "What should we do with it?" asked Megumi stoically while her mind tried to think of possible ways she could have offended him with her offering. Really, what did she do wrong? Did he not like vanilla or maybe it was the candles or maybe it was her?

Amaya shrugged. "We can't let perfectly good food go to waste."

Megumi sighed tiredly. "You've been eyeing it since he rejected it, haven't you?"

"You know how much I like pound cake!" she whined. Megumi sighed heavily before her edge of her lip quirked into a smirk. "Yeah, I do. Go nuts."

"Yay!"

Megumi watched as her friend ripped a chunk off the cake and bit off a large piece. "Mmph mm?" she asked.

Megumi smirked. "Sure, I'd love some." She tore off a small piece and popped it into her mouth. This continued for a while, Amaya taking large chunks and choking while Megumi took off small pieces and entertained them with sarcastic remarks which sent her friend choking on her cake.

Eventually, the cake had shrunk into a medium-sized piece as it sat in the tin pan in the middle of the table between the two girls. Megumi looked at it with a bored expression as Amaya gazed upon it with wild, hungered eyes. Megumi reached forwards and time seemed to slow as Amaya stood from her chair and ran towards the cake, Megumi's fingers coming closer and closer to the pan.

'_Almost there!'_ thought Amaya as her fingers grazed the metal pan, practically tasting the sugary treat, but that dream was soon torn away in front of her very eyes.

Megumi grabbed the pan away at the last second and presented it to Kakashi, ignoring the loud crash that accompanied her friend as she fell flat on her face. "Want the last piece?" she asked coolly.

Amaya looked up, her eyes pleading. "But Megumi-sama!"

"Amaya, you already had like, three-fourths of the cake."

"But—but—but—!"

"No buts."

"Hai."

Silence followed the argument and Megumi looked back up at Kakashi. "Well?" she asked, nudging the cake closer to him.

Kakashi shrugged. "Sure, but we're sharing. I don't really like sweets."

"Me either, but okay, fine." Megumi reached into the pan and broke the cake, handing one half to him and keeping the other for herself. "Happy birthday," she murmured as she took a small bite.

"Thank you." She looked up in question but her expression became surprised because this time, he'd returned her words with a warm smile.


	7. Chapter 6: Funeral Day

(819): Well, midterms sucked, but we have great news!

(102): By twist of fate, we had our lunches scheduled at the same time!

(819): Which means we can plot the entire story and I can possibly type this story faster! (if school doesn't interfere of course)

(102): Yeah and remember, reviews = pictures! (By the way, there's some up on Megumi-sama's profile right now v It's near the bottom of her profile)

(819): Info-crazy, much? >.>

(102): x3; Eheh.

Disclaimer: We don't own Naruto. The following sob stories are 100 true... sadly.

* * *

Ch.6: Funeral Day

The door opened and Team 7 and Gaara looked up, but something was wrong. The familiar sound of laughter that usually followed their entrance was gone, replaced by a heavy pressure that was slowly spreading through the room, poisoning the atmosphere.

Naruto looked up as the girls made their way down the stairs in silence, their quiet unnerving. "Amaya? Megumi?" The girls looked up and smiled half-heartedly before walking to the table and slouching forward in their chairs, their heads resting on the compressed wood.

Naruto looked helplessly to his friends who looked worriedly at the girls. Sasuke studied them from his place on the wall, the silence hanging over them. _'What's with them? Usually they're acting as cheerful as Naruto or as moody as Sakura.'_ The words slipped out of his mouth before he could stop them. "What's wrong?" he asked.

Sasuke cursed the worried words that rolled past his tongue, not noticing the girls lift their heads wearily, a sad smile playing on their lips. "It's nothing."

Kakashi was next to speak. "It's not nothing if you two are acting like this."

Sakura looked at them, her eyes filled with worry. "Yeah; what's wrong, guys?"

Amaya lifted her head, facing away from everyone as she stared at the way, her eyes unfocused. "Today's the anniversary of my mother's death." Sakura's hand flew to her mouth.

"What happened?"

"Lung cancer. She died when I was really young. I was only a baby…6 months, 5 days old. A few hours I think. It had been 49 days since she was diagnosed, but the tumor that started it all had been within her for years…and the chemo, the therapy, everything couldn't do _anything_!" Her voice began to choke up. "49 days… if it were only one more day…just one more day…sometimes I wonder if she would've lived…" she whispered. She bowed her head, hair covering her face as she couldn't stand to see their faces anymore. A hand materialized from the swirling sand and rested on her shoulder as Gaara looked on, his mouth in a grim line.

"Amaya…" Sakura trailed off. Naruto turned his gaze to Megumi as she stared at the wall, not even bothering to raise her head. "I'd rather not say," she murmured, pulling her black hood over her eyes further.

"Come on, Megumi-chan, we're really worried about you and we can't help you if you don't tell us why."

"Please Naruto, I'd really appreciate it if you'd stop asking me."

"Just tell us." Gazes flew to Sasuke as he shrugged it off. "We're worried. Friends do that sort of stuff, right?" The girl nodded. "So tell us."

"Please don't…" Suddenly, she felt a hand on hers and looked up. "Amaya?" The look of determination softened her eyes. "Thanks," she murmured.

Sasuke looked up. "Well?"

Megumi lifted her head, her eyes focused on the floor as her hands sat in her lap, her hair creating a curtain shielding her face. "We visited my grandmother's grave. It's been five years and I remember it like it was yesterday. It was the week before our biggest test of the year. It was a family dinner and I completely forgot about this project that was due the next day. I blew off my family to finish it, yelling a quick goodbye from my room as they left. Later that week, we got a phone call from my mother. She told us to come to the hospital.

"When we got there, my mother was in tears. We asked what was wrong and she told us that my grandmother didn't have much time left. She had called earlier that morning for my mom to take her to the hospital complaining of problems eating and chest pains. Turns out it was major heart attack, damaged 2/3 of her heart."

She trailed off, her hands gripping the hem of her shirt as she steadied herself. "My little brother went before me and came back sobbing. I shrugged it off thinking he was overreacting and went inside. I studied the rooms we passed in the ICU. People hooked up to IV lines and various needles in their skin as machines beeped at their bedsides. My grandmother's was third from the supply closet. We went in and I froze; my heart sank. There she was, hooked up to various things. She turned to me and smiled and I lost it. I started crying and my mom led me from the room, it was the last time I would see her alive. She died three hours later when my family and I were trying to get a hold of my uncle and his family. Grandpa was with her to the end."

A bitter, sad smile made its home on her face as a tear fell from her eye, creating a small spot on her jeans. "She looked so peaceful. The tubes were gone and it looked like she was sleeping peacefully just like I remembered her doing."

Her body trembled as it struggled for control, fighting to hold the tears in. Kakashi moved his hand towards her shoulder apprehensively, her shoulders shaking as tears leaked from her eyes. She looked back as a hand rested on her shoulder comfortingly and she wiped a tear from her eye. "You know, this is the first time I've told anyone. Not even my parents know. God, I must seem like such an idiot right now," she said scoffing softly at herself.

Naruto watched as his friends shared their memories, their vulnerability revealed for the first time. Who knew what else they hid from other people? "You know…we should do something."

"He's right, but what?" wondered Sasuke.

Sakura smiled softly. "I have an idea."

Sakura disappeared shortly and came back with two boxes and paper along with glue and scissors. "We can make those boats."

"You mean the ones that are supposed to lead a spirit to the Underworld?"

"Yup. Get to work you two."

Surprisingly, she was met with no objections and Sasuke and Naruto set to work. A half-hour later, the boats were done. Sakura placed a small candle inside each of them before handing them to the girls. "Sorry we can't sail them now, but we don't have a running body of water."

Megumi smiled. "Its okay, we live near the ocean. We can sail them there."

Gaara opened his eyes, casting a glance towards the girls. "Can we…join you?"

Amaya looked up at him and placed a hand over the one on her shoulder. "Sure."

* * *

The sun was setting in the distance as the water lapped at their feet. Amaya and Megumi looked out to the ocean. "The sunset's beautiful today," whispered Megumi as she cradled her boat.

"Yeah…wait, how are we going to launch them? The ocean's just going to send them back to us."

The shinobi smirked. "Leave that to us," they chorused.

Amaya and Megumi looked to each other and shrugged when they felt themselves being lifted. They looked up. "Gaara-san?"

"Kakashi?"

"Just relax." smiled Kakashi and Gaara nodded in agreement. The girls were carried out into the water; watching as their friends' feet glowed with chakra, the shore growing farther and farther away.

The group stopped and Sakura lit a match and stuck her hand into the lantern, a small glow appearing in the boxes. She smiled at the girls. "All you have to do is launch them." Amaya and Megumi nodded and Gaara and Kakashi stooped down, holding the girls as they lowered the boats in the water, watching them bob as the seawater rocked them. With a small push, they were sent sailing into the sunset.

The group soon returned to the sandy shore and Kakashi and Gaara let them down. "Thanks," they whispered.

"No problem." The shinobi nodded a goodbye and disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

The two looked to each other. "Let's go home," smiled Megumi. "Hai." They walked up the sandy beach, bathed in the light of the waning day; the boats, shadows on the horizon of the setting sun.


	8. Chapter 7: Malls Mean Fangirls

(819): Well, finals sucked, but we have great news. Whassup?

(102): Hi!

(819): Well, sorry for being mostly Megumi-centric these past few chapters, but I'm used to a one-character-focus kind of writing.

(102): But I'm helping her break out of that.

(819): So this is a chapter with me trying to break out of it.

(102): Are our OC's really Mary-sue?

(819): Be honest or I'll become emo and go self-loathing.

(102): Seriously, she will and it's not pretty. So please. And review too!

(819): Some of the stuff below is in Japanese courtesy of 102. Review if you don't get anything.

Disclaimer: This is probably as annoying for you to see this as it is for us to write it, but we have to get it over with. We don't own Naruto or any of the mentioned stores or copyrighted items.

* * *

Ch.7: Malls Mean Fangirls and Stampedes

Amaya and Megumi were mixing chocolate batter in a small bowl for the mini-muffins they were going to make or attempt to make seeing how they were going to be made in a toaster oven.

Amaya stirred quickly, trying to break apart the dry clods of muffin mix as best she could when some splattered on her sleeve. "Kusaa! I liked this shirt…Keh." She set down the bowl on the table and grabbed her sleeve, the sound of tearing fabric ringing through the air.

Sakura and Naruto looked at the girl with shock. "I thought you said you liked that shirt!"

"I do!"

"Then why'd you tear off the sleeve?" asked Sasuke without batting an eye.

"She likes her clothes looking like that. She did it in our freshman year. We were all busting a gut," Megumi replied, a smile playing on her lips at the memory.

Amaya shrugged. "Besides, the shirt's old. It had a hole in it already so it gave me another reason to tear it. Besides, I think it looks better like this," she said, twisting and turning to showcase the style.

Megumi blinked. "Hey, I just realized…you've been here for a few weeks right?" The shinobi nodded. "Have you changed your clothes at all?"

Silence reigned supreme in the room as Amaya and Megumi stared at them. "Ewww!"

Megumi paled. "That means you guys have been wearing the same underwear for weeks!"

Amaya grabbed Kakashi by his jounin vest. "Please tell me you wash them at least."

He waved her hand off. "Of course."

Megumi blinked. "Then what do you do while they dry?"

"Commando."

Megumi 'Eep'ed and turned away, a bright blush on her cheeks. Amaya covered her mouth to hide her smile. "We need to get you guys some clothes, seriously. At least more underwear." The shinobi all nodded and Amaya smiled. "Alright, after the muffins are done, we'll go to the mall."

The shinobi blinked. "Mall?"

Amaya blinked. "You don't know what a mall is?"

"No…"

"Then where do you buy stuff?"

"Shops and other countries."

"We need to get you there and fast," said Megumi.

"To the mall!" screamed Amaya.

"The muffins?" her friend asked.

"Oh yeah…" Amaya chuckled nervously. The shinobi sweatdropped.

* * *

A plethora of conversations echoed around them as the sun floated through the glass skylights. Naruto smiled at the hustle and bustle around him as he looked around excitedly. "Whoa, Sakura-chan, look at that!" he exclaimed pointing at the Disney store display. Sakura bopped him on the head, a bruise already forming. "Sakura-chan!" he whined.

"Shh!" she hissed.

Amaya and Megumi looked at them and sighed. "Okay, let's go over this one more time. What are you going to say if someone asks why you're dressed like that?"

"Convention."

"If someone asks if you're lost?"

"I'm fine, thank you."

"If you'd take a picture with them?"

"No, thank you, sorry."

"If you'd go out with them?"

"I'm taken."

Amaya and Megumi smiled. "Great."

"Now let's go!"

* * *

Amaya and Megumi sat slumped over a bench, panting tiredly as Sakura drew patterns into the wood absentmindedly. You see, the two girls had to fight their male friends into their clothes. Naruto wasn't that bad, but he turned his nose up at wearing a tie or anything pink. Sasuke wouldn't take off his Uchiha shirt so they had to bribe him with a tomato and it worked, seeing how they were rare in Sound. Gaara took whatever they threw at him, but he refused to remove the gourd from his changing stall and Kakashi refused to wear any light color except white and grey (and after much convincing, light blue).

Minutes passed and they waited, changing positions on the bench in their boredom. They had gotten to the pose where you hang your legs over the back of the bench and hang your head over the seat edge with your hands clasped on your stomach when the doors finally started to open.

Naruto was first wearing a pair of khaki shorts and an orange T-shirt they found in a 75 off bin. Afterall, it was fall and San Francisco was known to get nippy around this time of the year. Gaara was next with a black T-shirt and black pants and Amaya had to wipe away the small drop of saliva that had accumulated at the edge of her mouth. Sasuke was next wearing a black T-shirt and jeans and lastly, Kakashi wearing a pair of jeans with a white T-shirt.

"Everything fit?" Megumi asked. They nodded and Amaya and Megumi scanned them over, professionalism taking over. "Naruto, don't hike your shorts up that high. Pull them down a little."

"Gaara, your pants are falling, you need to get a belt."

"Sasuke, your jeans are a size too small, change back and we'll find you another one."

More critiques flew from their mouths as they pulled and adjusted clothing. Megumi scanned Kakashi, looking for flaws in the outfit and finding none. That is, until she looked at his face. Her brows knitted together in annoyance. "Kakashi, the mask has to go."

"I'm sorry?" he asked.

"Navy blue doesn't bode well with white. Amaya, back me up on this. You're the fashion person."

"She's right. You have to take it off. Crimes against fashion and such," she explained. When he didn't budge, Megumi glared at him. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way."

Kakashi looked at her with his lone eye. "And exactly what is the hard way?"

"This."

Dangling in a smirking Megumi's hand by its corner was Kakashi's precious Icha Icha Special Limited Edition vol. 4, a pair of scissors in the other. Kakashi tried hard not to gape. _'How'd she get that?'_

"From your vest when you were changing."

'Can she read minds?'

"Nope, facial expressions alone."

He scowled under his mask. "No."

Megumi swung the precious paperback in her hand, watching Kakashi's eye follow it against his will. "I'd seriously rethink that. You're in a different dimension meaning you can't get another copy from Jiraiya and this is the only one in this universe," she purred.

"The ONLY one?"

"Yup. So, the book, unharmed, for the mask, how about it, Ka-ka-shi?" A pregnant silence passed between them and the changing room became tense with anticipation. Kakashi sighed frustratedly.

"Fine."

Kakashi removed the mask from his body and Megumi threw the book to him. He rubbed his jaw, his nose scrunching in annoyance. "I feel so naked."

Amaya shrugged. "At least you look better now."

She sighed, "You'll get used to it. Now change back and we'll pay for the clothes."

The sounds of clothes rustling was heard and Amaya and Megumi picked up the various T-shirts and jeans along with some other outfits and walked out to the cash register. The two girls exited the store, shopping bags in hand and waited. They were about to go back inside when the shinobi exited the store. "What took you so long?"

Naruto huffed. "That girl at the counter kept ogling Sasuke-teme."

'"Oh," came the reply.

Sakura waved it off, much to the surprise of Sasuke. "So where are we going next?"

"Somewhere strictly for you, Sakura."

"Me?"

"Her?"

Amaya smiled. "You'll see."

Amaya and Megumi led them through the mall, weaving through the small clusters of people situated around windows and benches. They scanned store names, reading the various brand names before stopping in front of one brand name in particular. "Victoria's Secret. What's that?" asked Naruto.

"Dobe, it's a lingerie store."

"Sasuke, you pervert!"

"I'm serious. Look at the window displays."

Naruto looked in the glass windows to see mannequins dressed in frills and lace with little in between. "Why here?" asked Sakura.

"Cuz this is one of the few places in the mall that sells this stuff and only this stuff. You know your sizes right?"

She nodded to Megumi. "Then you'll be fine, but I'll leave Amaya with you."

"What?! Why?!"

Megumi looked at her. "Can you really see me in there?"

"Good point, but where are you going?"

"Taking these guys to the men's bathroom to change. Be back soon."

Amaya nodded and Megumi watched her friend leave with Sakura. Megumi smiled. "Come on guys, let's go."

"Um, Megumi-chan?"

"Yes, Naruto?"

Megumi turned around to see Kakashi looking into the store from where he stood, a small dark spot appearing on his once-again masked face. She sighed and walked over to Kakashi, waving her hand in his face. "Kakashi?"

"Kakashi!" she sang.

Megumi sighed frustratedly when an idea appeared in her head. _'Wonder if it actually works?' _

She placed her hand in his face, waving it before him. Nothing. She let her hand move to his ear and tugged it towards the men's bathroom. "Ouch," he said grabbing her hand.

"What do you know, it does work."

"What works?" he retorted, hissing in pain as he rubbed his ear, letting go of her wrist.

"Oh nothing, now come on," she said waving them towards the bathrooms.

* * *

Sakura sifted through the racks. "Why have a store devoted entirely to underwear?" she asked aloud.

"Dunno. It's part of living in this universe. The whole I-have-to-look-slutty-and-skinny-as-a-toothpick-to-be-sexy idea."

"That's dumb."

"Blame fashion and Hollywood. You done?"

"Yeah," Amaya smiled. "Changing room are over there. Call me if you need anything." Sakura nodded and Amaya watched her leave. "Wonder how Megumi-sama is doing?"

_With Megumi…_

"No, I will not go on a date with you, you sick freak!" The red-haired boy blinked in question before smiling and attempting to hug him again. Sasuke glared at the boy as he held him away at arm's length before shoving him harshly against the wall and storming out of the men's restroom.

Naruto heard footsteps echo through the small corridor and turned to look inside when he was shoved aside. He rubbed his shoulder and turned to glare at the man. "What the fuck was that for, teme?!"

"Hn."

Sasuke looked around at his male friends, (not that he'd say that aloud) and at the bags of their old clothes in shopping bags. He scanned their bored faces when he noticed something. "Where'd you get the eyepatch?"

Kakashi touched his left eye, covered with a black patch. "She gave it to me," he said pointing a thumb to Megumi who waved her fingers. Sasuke hn'ed. "Let's go."

* * *

Sakura and Amaya emerged from Victoria's Secret ™ debating the asinine rules of this world's society when they heard a dull roar above the eerie silence of the usually bustling mall. They turned their heads to the sound. "Nani?"

Four small figures could be seen in front of a cloud of smoke. _'What the hell is that?' _they wondered.

"SAKURA-CHAN!!"

They squinted their eyes.

"Naruto?" asked Sakura. Suddenly, hands shot out, grabbing the two girls by the wrists as they ran up the escalators, pushing and apologizing as they passed the various shoppers, the people staring at them confusedly.

Sakura, Sasuke, Naruto, Kakashi, Megumi, Amaya, and even Gaara stood at the top, gasping for breath; a cold sweat on their skin as Amaya and Sakura panted. Amaya looked up. "What the hell was that for?!" she snapped.

Naruto looked up with fear written clearly in his eyes as he pointed to the cloud of dust coming up after them. Sakura and Amaya looked over the banister of the second floor to see hordes of squealing girls, hearts in their eyes. Sakura and Amaya gulped. They knew this enemy well. Fangirls.

Naruto swung his head side to side in panic. "Oh shit. What do we do? We need to hide and—OH SHIT! THEY'RE COMING UP THE ESCALATOR NOW!"

Sasuke and Kakashi shot their heads to the escalators on both sides of them as their mouths gaped slightly as they watched girls push past each other screaming: "YOU'RE SO HOT!", "MARRY ME!", and the infamous, "FUCK ME!"

The girls cringed at the last comment before realizing the situation at hand. "Shimateshimateshimateshimateshimate," cursed Sakura rapidly.

"Augh! Where can we hide?" Amaya looked around, her eyes widening as she spotted salvation. "There!"

Sasuke looked at the store and cringed. "No way."

"Sasuke-teme, quit being an ass and come on!"

"No."

"Come on!" screamed Sakura as she used her chakra-laden limbs and pulled him roughly into the store, Gaara, Naruto, and Amaya following shortly.

Megumi turned on her heel and let her foot fall forward when she noticed something. "Aren't you coming?"

She huffed. "Come on, Kakashi, they'll rape you!"

"Dammit!" she screamed as she pushed him towards the store.

She could feel them on her heels, the scent of perfume threatening to overwhelm her as she felt their breath on her neck. With a final shove, she pushed him into the store before diving in after him.

The screams of fangirls grew more desperate as they reached for the sprawled body of Megumi, demanding a body to sate them. She watched in horror as they reached for her leg, the sensation of her shoe slipping from her foot ringing bells in her mind. She shrieked and clambered further into the store. She looked behind her and saw them swarm forward before stopping abruptly, glaring and hissing at the girl before retreating, already looking for their next prey.

Megumi panted heavily. _'Thank god for Hot Topic™,'_ she thought as she lay her head on the warm comfortable floor under her. _'Huh? When have the floors at a mall ever been warm and comfortable?' _

"Plan on getting off me anytime soon?"

Megumi lifted her head to see Kakashi's head turned towards her, slight annoyance on his face. She looked down to see her body draped over his and flung herself off, a red blush on her face. "Eep!" she said, knocking into the shelf of T-shirts behind her.

"Hey, don't be messin' with the merchandise."

Heads snapped up to see a girl behind the counter pop her gum bubble. Amaya blinked. "It can't be…"

"But it is…" her friend murmured.

The girl behind the counter lifted her head from her hand and made a peace sign. "Yo, loves." No sooner did she say that, she was tackled to the floor.

"Hey! Hey!"

"Jessikher!" squealed Megumi.

"Oh man. We haven't seen you in years! We missed you so much!"

The girl made a face. "Okay, okay, I get it. You missed me, now can you stop messin' with _my_ threads?!"

Megumi and Amaya slowly stood up. "Sorry." They said. Their friend dusted herself off and narrowed her gaze at them before slinging her arms around their shoulders and pulling them to her. "Just kiddin' y'all. I missed you guys too!" she smiled.

A throat was cleared and the girls looked up. "Um…who's she?" The girls blinked and looked at each other. A collective 'Oh yeah' popped into their heads. "This is Jessica, our friend from middle school. We haven't seen her in years." explained Amaya.

Jessica smiled. "But my friends call me Jessikher."

The shinobi looked at the girl. She had brown hair with highlights and glasses. She was taller than Megumi by an inch was dressed in a white tank top and green camouflage pants. Naruto grinned.

"Hey! I'm Naruto."

"Sakura."

"Gaara."

"Hn. Sasuke."

"And I'm Kakashi."

Jessica blinked owlishly. "Why are you guys named like those characters in that manga?"

Megumi and Amaya chuckled nervously. "They sorta are the characters in the manga," Amaya said sheepishly.

"Huh? _Are_?"

"We don't know how it happened, but they just appeared at school one day and yeah," replied Megumi.

"They do jutsu and everything!" Amaya said cheerfully.

Jessica wrinkled her nose. "Prove it."

The shinobi blinked and huddled together. Naruto looked to his friends. "What can we do?"

"I can't do anything that wouldn't break something," said Sakura.

"I'd set something on fire."

"I'd blast a hole through the wall."

"My bunshins would draw too much attention."

They all turned to Gaara who blinked. "Nani?"

"Gaara! You can do your sand thing!" exclaimed Naruto.

"Naze?"

"It draws the least attention."

Gaara sighed. Naruto was right. "Fine."

They watched as Gaara stepped from the group and stood behind the counter where their alternate universe friends stood. They waited with baited breath as Gaara closed his eyes and sand began to materialize around him and disappear back into the gourd on his back.

Jessica blinked. "…HOLY SHIT MAN! That's awesome!"

Amaya pouted. "We told you they were real!"

"Fine. Fine. So what brings you here?"

"We're hiding from the obsessive drones who rape people at the drop of a hat," Megumi said nonchalantly.

"Huh?"

"Megumi-sama said fangirls," translated Amaya.

"Still doin' the Megumi-sama thing huh?" Amaya nodded. "Well, whateva. Just don't break anythin'."

"Hn."

"Yo love, your stuff came in."

Megumi raised her head from the shelf of T-shirts, her eyes wide. "You mean?"

Jessica waved around a CD case. "Yup."

"Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!" she screamed as she hugged her friend.

"Air!"

"Ah! Sorry."

"It's alright. Here love," she said, handing her the latest MCR CD. Megumi's eyes sparkled with joy as she traced her fingers on the plastic. Kakashi leaned down. "What's with her?"

Amaya looked up. "She loves My Chemical Romance. It's like me and Miyavi/Miyabi-sama!"

"Hn."

A half hour later of browsing the store and Naruto gloating about him having his own franchise and Kakashi staring at his image on said franchise items, they headed to BORDERS.

_At Borders…_

Beryl eyes flitted across the store as Sakura took in the mass amount of books. "Sugoi!"

"It's so big!" Naruto added.

Megumi and Amaya smiled fondly. "Yeah. This place is awesome."

Sasuke looked down at Amaya. "So what are we doing here?"

"Getting books. I need manga, CD's, and source books for my own book."

"And I need manga, period."

Sasuke wrinkled his nose. "Bookworms." The girls stuck their tongues out childishly. "Fine, What are you going to do?" they retorted.

"Hn."

Amaya sighed. "Fine. We'll stick together then."

"But I wanna look over there!" Naruto whined, pointing to a colorful display propped up next to a few benches and chairs.

Megumi sweatdropped. "That's the children's book section, Naruto."

"Oh."

Gaara opened an eye. "I want to look over there," he said pointing to the section of the store labeled 'art'.

"And I want to go over there," said Sakura pointing over to the medical books.

Amaya stuck up her hands in defeat. "Fine, fine. We'll split up. It shouldn't hurt seeing how we'll be within each other's sight range. Meet over there in an hour," she said pointing over to the cookbooks.

"Hn." came the collective reply.

_With Naruto…_

Naruto walked around the store, his hands inside his pockets as he scanned titles. Suddenly, he looked around. _'How the hell'd I get here?'_ he wondered scanning the shelves of sports books.

He walked away quickly and found himself in another section of the store. He looked at the titles on the shelves. _What To Do In Case Green Aliens Attack.__ They know Lee and Gai?' _He flipped through the book and stared at the pages puzzled. _'Can't they just use kunai?'_ He turned the page and burst into a fit of laughter. "Man, I'm so getting this. What else is here?"

Naruto scanned the shelf to his left and found something. _'Pearls Before Swine?'_ He rested the book on his forearm and scanned through it, wrinkling his nose. "I don't get it, but sensei might like this one though." he said to himself as he tucked the book under his arm and continued his search.

_With Sakura…_

Emerald eyes wandered around the store, looking over shelves to spot a familiar red head flipping through a book of Claude Monet's works. She smiled. He'd changed so much since the painful days of the Chunnin exams. Moving her head, she faced her next task. Juggling the numerous texts in her hand, she tiptoed, stretching her arm to reach the book on at the top shelf.

Her hand waved in the air, the pad of her ring finger brushing against the spine_. 'Shoot. So close.'_ She furrowed her brows and stretched herself further and heard a grunt behind her. Electricity surged through her as a chest brushed against her back, freezing her to the spot under her feet.

Warmth drew away from her body and she turned around, heat flooding her face as she stared up into obsidian eyes. "Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke merely grunted and edged the book closer to her. "Here."

"A-a-arigatou."

"Hn."

Tense silence passed between them as Sakura stared at the floor, absentmindedly chewing her bottom lip as she twirled a pink lock around her finger.

"So…need any more help?"

Sakura looked up to see a face mirroring her own look of shock. She wondered what brought on this sudden act of kindness, knowing he was probably asking himself the same question. "Sure, Sasuke-kun."

"Hn."

"Are you ever going to say anything other than 'hn'?"

"Hn."

"Mou..."

_With Kakashi, Megumi, and Amaya…_

Long fingers glided along spines as Megumi walked along the shelves of manga. She had finished looking for source books and stepped across the aisle to look at the manga. Stepping over yet another girl reading a manga book, she hopped over to her friend. "Hey Amaya."

Amaya looked up from her obsession. "Hai?"

"What are you looking at?"

"Ja-an!!" exclaimed her friend, pointing to a book named Sukisyo (a.k.a. Sukikyo).

Megumi followed her friend's shaking finger to see a small book. _'A boy love novel.'_

"Ugh, yaoi. I don't have a problem with homosexuality, loving the Queer Eye guys and all the other stuff I talk about, plus my gay friends prove it, but gross!"

"Demo, Yaoi was sugoiiiii-desu, Megumi-sama," she stated. "It's more than _just_ boy love; it's TRUE love, and not all about sex like most of the het books out there." Outstretching her arms, she reached for the book and embraced it. "My precious…" A trickle of drool slid out of the corner of her mouth.

Megumi added no reply to the rant except to state, "You're drooling."

Amaya pulled up her shirtsleeve, removing the liquid and looked up to see a finger held to a mouth. She nodded imperceptibly and watched a hand inch closer to her friend's shoulder.

Megumi stared quizzically at her friend who continued to stare over her shoulder. "What? What is it? Something on my shirt?" Amaya shook her head. "Then wha—"

"Boo."

Amaya watched her friend yelp, her eyes wide as books fell to the ground. "Darn it," she cursed as Amaya and Kakashi laughed.

Megumi glared at the two as she bent down to pick up her books. "I don't see what's so funny."

Amaya continued to hold her sides. "That was--that was--oh man! Ahahaha!"

Kakashi wiped a tear from his eye. "Sorry, couldn't resist," he said handing her a fallen book. Megumi snatched the book and turned her nose up, dragging a finger over the shounen manga on the shelves. She stopped, plucked a book from the shelf, then plucked a few more titles from the other shelves.

She stood up and turned on her heel, her stoic mask once again in place. She held her hand out. "Give me your stuff. I'm going to go pay."

"What about the others?"

"Amaya is paying for it."

"Fine."

Megumi felt a book pressed into her hand and felt a head on her shoulder. "Is that a _romance_ novel?" Amaya asked.

Megumi raised a brow. "You're taking your smut where you can find it, aren't you?"

"Pretty much."

"Hn. Typical. And I had something picked out just for you."

Kakashi's eyebrow raised. "Oh really?"

Megumi dropped the novel on her stack of books, releasing her left hand momentarily to get something. Kakashi's eye widened as his jaw gaped slightly. "W-where'd you get that?"

Megumi blinked and looked down at the orange book in her hand. "Oh, this? Well, I was planning to get you this as a gift after I found it, but after that little stunt you pulled, I'm starting to have second thoughts…"

Kakashi's eyes widened further before narrowing dangerously. "What do you want?"

She beamed, a toothy grin on her face and Kakashi suppressed the urge to shiver. She looked just like Anko. "I thought you'd never ask. You let me read it to see what you find so good about it and I let you take this for keeps."

"You really are a sadistic person."

She stuck her tongue out. "Better get used to it," she smiled walking away with a spring in her step. Kakashi looked down at Amaya. "Hey, you were the one who thought it was a good idea to scare her," she said with an innocent tone in her voice.

"Don't worry, she'll get over it. She always does. How do you think we get along so well?"

"Hn."

* * *

Bags rustled as Megumi ran towards the meeting place. "Sorry, line was murder, but guess what I got?"

Naruto blinked. "What?"

Megumi smiled and reached into one of the plastic bags to reveal Naruto vol. 1. "Ja-an!"

The shinobi stared at it in awe and mild curiosity while Amaya blinked. "Why'd you get another one?" she asked, confused.

"Little brother chewed it up. Wanna see how you guys look?" Nods passed through the group and Megumi flipped through the pages. "Gomen Gaara, but you're not in this volume."

Gaara looked at her questioningly.

"You appear in the later volumes with the Chunnin exams," Amaya explained.

"Hn." he retorted.

"Whoa! I look awesome!"

"Did I really act that much of a fangirl?"

"Hn. Yeah," scowled Sasuke.

Kakashi blinked. "Is that me?" Naruto followed Kakashi's gaze. "Whoa! Sensei looks weird!"

"Yeah."

"Why is that?" asked Sasuke.

"Dunno. You guys look better in the anime, but it also has its bad sides. You sound like you're 21 in the original version and American censorship is the pits."

Naruto took the book and flipped through the pages stopping on one. "Hey sensei. look!"

The group crowded around the boy. "'Oh…..Me? My name is Hatake Kakashi. I'm the kind of person who doesn't feel like talking about his likes and dislikes! My dreams for the future are none of your business...but anyway, I have lots of hobbies…'" Sakura read aloud.

"Keh. You were possibly the lamest person to hold a conversation with," stated a smirking Sasuke.

"Look who's talking," Kakashi retorted coolly.

"Touché."

Suddenly, Gaara's eyes widened. "Something's coming."

The shinobi froze, their ears listening for any strange noises. Naruto's eyes hardened. "I hear it too." Suddenly, a cloud formed on the other side of the store.

Amaya's eyes widened. "Oh God! The fangirls!!"

"How'd they find us?!"

"Shouldn't you know, teme?! You're the ones with the fangirl club back home!"

"Hn."

"Stop arguing, you two!" snapped Kakashi. He reached for a kunai to find nothing. _'Dammit, just when I needed it most.'_

"Sensei! Stop standing around and run!" screamed Sakura. Kakashi blinked and looked up to see the girls' arms reaching for him.

"Kuso!" he cursed, running to catch up with his friends. He risked a glance back to see innocent bystanders being crushed underfoot and pushed himself to run faster. Then, he saw it. The double doors.

A man whistled an innocent tune as he stood near a pair of double doors. He tapped his fingers on the wooden podium in front of him as the lights above shined on his 'Hi, I'm Ted' sticker. Ted turned his head and saw people coming towards him. "Have a nice—" Wind blew past him and he blinked. _'Was I dreaming?'_ He had no chance to continue the thought as the fangirls tackled him as they collided with the glass wall, spilling out onto the wheelchair ramp.

Gaara looked over his shoulder to see Ted smashed against the glass and winced, a pang of pity going out for the man. He sighed and looked down to see his feet running and the urge to slap himself welled inside him. _'Why didn't I think of it before?'_

He reached behind him; uncorking the gourd and letting the sand solidify under him. It slowly lifted him up and he sat comfortably on the sand. He turned to his friends who were still running. "Hop on." They looked up and clamored onto the sand, soaring into the sky. When witnesses were questioned later about the incident, they'd say they saw a UFO.

* * *

Lights were flipped on as the group descended the stairs of the teacher's lounge. The "characters" collapsed tiredly on the various chairs and table. Amaya and Megumi reached into their bags and removed various items before collapsing tiredly on the spot.

"You know…" Amaya panted.

"What?" Sakura panted, the adrenaline slowly working off.

"I just realized…you…guys were speaking…English…this whole time," she said in between pants.

"That's what it's called? We just…learned this in the academy. The whole you-must-be-multilingual-to-be-a-shinobi-thing," Naruto explained.

"Oh."

Megumi pushed herself up tiredly. "Well, it's getting late and I gotta take the bus."

"I gotta go too," added Amaya, using the table as leverage to push herself up.

"Alright," the others replied.

The shinobi watched the girls walk up the stairs, standing unsteadily as they reached the top. Waving a tired goodbye, they left.

Gaara, Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto grabbed a blanket from one of the shopping bags and covered themselves with it and Kakashi walked over to the table, grabbing a book. The sounds of light snoring and the pages of Icha Icha being turned heard through the silence.


	9. Ch 8: The Holes in Doughnuts

(102): IT IS COMPLETE!

(819): After HOW long?

(102): Hey, procrastination's fun!

(819): …Don't you mean addictive?

(102): That too!

(819): -.-; What am I going to do with you?

(102): I don't know. What _are_ you going to do to me?

(819): That was rhetorical… and besides, don't you have pages to draw and a chapter to introduce?

(102): O.O Shimate.

(Warning: chapter is depressively melancholy. Those who are happy and/or cheerful might want to leave and return at a later time when depressed before attempting to read this chapter.)

**Disclaimer: We have no association with Naruto, its companies, contractors, etc. etc. etc.**

* * *

Ch. 8: The Holes in the Doughnuts are filled with Silence

The door to the musty teachers' lounge opened and Amaya poked her head in. The usual suspects were there, as always. Kakashi was leaning against a wall, diligently reading his Icha Icha. Sasuke merely sat in a chair with one leg crossed to make a shape of a four. After all, he _is_ a man… Sakura stared at the wall, since she had nothing better to do. Then there was Naruto… who was too captivated by his own manga to notice the girl. However, the question of Gaara's whereabouts came to mind, since he seemed nowhere in sight.

Amaya stepped into the room, closing the door behind her with a click. Almost immediately, the ninja seemed to disappear. Amaya sweatdropped and put up her hands, the plastic bag rustling slightly as she did so. "Relax, it's only me," she said reassuringly. _'Perhaps I should be a little bit louder next time…'_ she thought to herself. Just as soon as she said those words, they reappeared and took their previous positions. "Jeez," she said putting the plastic bag onto the table. "You don't have to be so cautious…"

"But wasn't that what you two told us to do?" Sasuke coolly retorted. "To not let anyone see us?"

"Eheh," Amaya replied as she took ingredients out of the bag she brought in. _'That's true, but still…'_

"Oi, oi, Amaya-chan!" Naruto exclaimed as he wandered over to the tables, peering at the counter. "What'd you bring this time?" he questioned with a happy tone in his voice.

"Doughnuts," she replied.

"Ooo…" replied a curious blond.

Amaya proceeded with dumping some flour into a bowl. Next was sugar, a little bit of baking powder, milk, and eggs. After whisking it, she set it aside and turned on the portable stove she stole from the club. After all, she _had_ asked… Of course, when she did so, no one was paying attention. A few clicks were heard and finally…

Success. A small blue flame flickered underneath a frying pan. The pan was quite deep for its size, making it ideal for a makeshift deep fryer. Amaya waited for the oil to heat up, and then dropped spoonfuls of dough into the bubbling mass, wary of any stray splatters. It only took a few minutes to finish frying the bunch.

The smell wafted through the air, and the shinobi wandered over, save Kakashi, Sasuke, and Gaara. Then again, that was to be suspected. After sprinkling some powdering sugar over the doughnuts, Amaya smiled. "Done!"

Naruto gave a yelp of happiness and dug in. "Itadakimasu!" he exclaimed while stuffing four or five of the sugary confections into his mouth at a time, immediately screaming for water soon after.

"Serves you right," said Sakura, gingerly picking one up. "After all, they're still warm from being fried." Taking a bite, she looked at Amaya and smiled. "These are good—not too sweet, not too bland."

Amaya pouted, staring at her doughnut. "Really?" She asked. Taking the box of confectioner's sugar into her hand, she dumped the doughnut inside and rolled it around. "I think it's not sweet enough…" Sakura merely gaped as Amaya popped the sugar-coma-inducing piece of food into her mouth. Amaya tilted her head to the side as she chewed. "Something wrong?"

"N-nothing…" stuttered a wary Sakura. _'She has some kind of sweet tooth…'_

"They're alright," stated Kakashi as he flipped through his book.

"Eh?" Amaya looked over at him then back at the plate of doughnuts. Sure enough, there seemed to be less than what Naruto, Sakura, and her left behind. _'Since when did he…'_ She shook the thought off. They were ninja. That's was all the explanation she needed.

"Sasuke-kun, you're not going to have any?" asked Sakura as she looked over at the raven-haired boy. He merely shook his head in reply and returned to whatever the hell he was doing.

After licking some sugar off her thumb, Amaya looked at Naruto, who was nursing his semi-burnt tongue with a bottle of water. "Ano sa… Naruto-san?"

"Hm?"

"Do you think you can give some of these to Gaara-sama when he comes back?" Amaya asked, motioning to the food.

"When he comes back…?" Naruto repeated with a puzzled look on his face. "Why would I do that? He's right there." He motioned to the entrance of the teacher's lounge. "Didn't you see him when you came in?"

Amaya blushed a little in embarrassment. "U-urusai." Placing a few doughnuts onto a paper plate, she took the box of sugar and went up the stairs.

Gaara stood by the entrance with this head bowed to the floor. As she approached, she noticed his eyes were shut, as he attempted to rest them, seeing as how he was an insomniac. If you can't sleep, you could at least rest your eyes to preserve their health, Amaya had heard from her brother. Upon reaching the top of the stairs, she bit her lip slightly, unsure of what to do. _'After all, it's rude to bother someone…'_ she thought to herself_. 'Besides, I don't want that to happen again.' _Flashbacks of what happened last time she tried asking Gaara of something went through her head.

Just as she stood there, fighting a mental battle with herself, she heard a familiar voice. "What do you want?"

Looking up, she found herself staring at an apathetic Gaara. "Well?" he questioned.

Immediately averting her eyes to the floor, Amaya bit her lip between words. "G-Gaara-sama… ano… that is…" Looking up, she closed her eyes, smiled, and held out the doughnuts with her head bowed.

Gaara stared back with a blank expression, eyed the plate of sweets, then turned his head. "I don't…care much for sweets…" he replied.

At that statement, Amaya's arms lowered and she forced a smile. "Oh…alright then." She proceeded down the stairs to the last few bottom steps then sat by herself. Taking one doughnut from the plate, she covered it in sugar and proceeded in eating.

Naruto came over all of a sudden, mouth stuffed with now-cooled doughnuts. "Oi, oi, whemss Mnnnumi-chmn?" (Translation: Oi, Oi, where's Megumi-chan?)

Amaya looked up. _'Ah, that's right, I still haven't told them,' _she remembered. Cursing her memory, she gave a slight wince. "Eto… Megumi-sama's at the dentist…"

Naruto swallowed. "Dentist?"

"Why's that?" questioned Sakura.

The silent three couldn't help but overhear as well, and paid attention as well… somewhat.

Amaya shrugged. "It's mandatory to do a check-up every six months or so," she stated, popping the first doughnut into her mouth.

"Ah." They all stated in unison.

'_Dentist eh,'_ Kakashi thought to himself as he paused in his reading. However, that pause ended a bit quickly as he reverted his attention back to his book. It was the good part just when something was happening…

Amaya stared at the second doughnut as she buried it in sugar. "It is a bit lonely without her, though…" she said silently to herself.

"Hrm? Did you say something, Amaya-chan?" Naruto asked, looking at the strangely dressed girl.

"Are?" Amaya looked up from the doughnut and shook her head. "No, nothing."

"Oh. Alright then!" Naruto grinned and turned his attention back to stuffing his face with food.

Silence filled up the lounge–a rare thing, even for her high school. Amaya let out a sigh and slowly chewed on the morsel. _'Perhaps I should just go home after this last piece,'_ she thought to herself. Once again, she looked down at the plate, unaware of the shadow that crept behind her. Dusting the doughnut with sugar, she raised it to meet her mouth, only to have it stolen from her. "Are?"

Once again, Amaya found herself face to face with Gaara. Her mouth was half-open, and she found herself at a loss for words.

"It's getting late," he stated as his eyes shifted to the door. "Go home."

"H-hai." Amaya's blush quickly faded away as she gathered her stuff and headed out the door. Turning her head, she managed a quick smile. "In that case, goodbye everyone…"

Soon as the door closed, Gaara stared at the piece of sugar in his hand and placed it in his mouth. (A/N: It's rude to waste food! Especially homemade food! )

The other looks on with jaws agape as thoughts of _'I thought he didn't care for sweets,' 'He's actually eating it,'_ and _'Ohmigod, what just happened?'_ flew through their minds.

Gaara proceeded to his station next to the door as he closed his eyes once again. _'She really does… have too big of a sweet tooth.'_ He thought, a bit agitated as his eyebrow twitched.

Silence once again filled the room.

'_Today was pretty quiet,'_ Kakashi thought to himself, pausing again. _'Megumi should be here next week.'_ His eye wandered around the room. _'Things are livelier when she is…' _Averting his attention back to his book, he, once again, turned the page and began a new chapter.

* * *

Are: Oro (feminine)

Urusai- shut up

Eto- ummm…


	10. Chapter 9: Naruto’s Birthday

(819): And we're back!

(102): I finally stopped procrastinating.

(819): And I picked up where she left off.

(102): This chapter is all for Naruto. Yup, his birthday, his party, his ramen. Ironically, he has a small role in this chapter.

(819): Though, this chapter might suck seeing how I haven't done this in a while, but here it goes.

Disclaimer: We don't own Naruto or anything associated with Naruto, so the lawyers may now leave the room.

* * *

Ch.9: Naruto's Birthday

"Are they here yet?"

"No."

"How about now, teme?"

"No."

"Now?"

"No."

"Now?"

"No."

"No—"

"How about shutting up before I stick a kunai up your ass." Sasuke glared, a hand moving slowly towards the kunai holster attached to his pants leg. Naruto folded his arms over his chest and pouted. "You're no fun, teme. Besides, it's my birthday and you have to be nice to me."

Sasuke hn'ed in return and Kakashi turned the page of his well-worn Icha Icha Paradise. "You know, Sasuke, if you humored Naruto for the day, it could be counted as your present. I know you forgot to get one," he said noting the tensing in his former student's jaw. Once again, Kakashi had hit the nail on the head.

'_Though I forgot to get him something also, but details, details. I'm sure this school has something I can "borrow",'_ he thought as Sakura pulled apart the squabbling friends. Apparently, Naruto didn't take Sasuke's 'I'll-be-nice-to-you-as-a-present-so-you-better-be-grateful' plan well.

Gaara looked up from the new therapist couch(and his new bed) the faculty had put in upstairs to walk over to the rail and sigh as Sakura smacked Naruto over the head lecturing him on his behavior as Sasuke sulked against the wall. Somehow, it seemed like a scene from a t.v. show he saw back home about a teacher dealing with her disobedient students. Somehow, Sasuke and Naruto fit the part of two bratty four-year-olds perfectly.

As Gaara chuckled to himself at the image of a four-year-old Naruto and Sasuke being reprimanded by Sakura, he sensed two familiar chakra signatures on the other side of the door and decided to alert his friends. "They're here."

Team 7 looked up from their activities to see Amaya and Megumi both carting two very large plastic bags that looked ready to burst. The two girls muttered to each other about the door before walking down the stairs and dropping the bags onto the table, a few brightly-colored packages falling out. Naruto started to drool. It didn't take a genius to figure out what it was. "Ramen!!"

"Pork, beef, chicken, tonkatsu, miso, cheese, seafood, oriental, you name it, it's probably in there," Megumi said watching Naruto drool, his eyes sparkling.

"The lady at the store looked us like we were crazy when we went to the checkout counter." Amaya quipped.

Sasuke walked over to the table and picked up a packet of chili beef ramen. "Is everything you bought ramen?"

"We bought a veggie platter." they offered, garnering a sweatdrop from the brooding Uchiha.

"Veggie platter?" Sakura asked.

"Well, we couldn't just eat ramen," Megumi answered. As Sakura nodded, Sasuke took a look at the veggie platter. "Any tomatoes?"

"Yeah, they're the small red things. Cherry tomatoes. Yum," Amaya said as she continued taking ramen out of the bags. Suddenly, a voice was heard. "Any hot water?"

Amaya leapt up, the bag of ramen flying with her. She turned around and saw who it was. "Gaara? Itai!" she shouted as the packet of ramen hit her square in the head. "Mou," she pouted, rubbing the lump and looked up. "Y-yes, Gaara?"

"I asked if you had any hot water. Naruto's starting to get impatient," he replied coolly.

"Oh. Hai." she replied pulling a thermos from her bag. She handed it to him and he reached for it, their fingers accidentally touching. Amaya pulled back as if scalded and Gaara blinked. "Are you?…"

"I'm fine," she smiled uneasily. _'Stop talking to me. Stop talking to me. Don't you dare blush, Amaya!'_

Gaara blinked, but nodded and left to find Naruto. _'Strange girl,'_ he thought.

* * *

The soft glow of the candles was the only light in the dark room of the teacher's lounge. The lights had been shut off and in the middle of the room stood a bowl of ramen, two candles in the shape of numbers sitting in its nest of noodles, the faint sound of Happy Birthday ringing in the room.

"Happy birthday to you!"

The song finished and the candles were blown out as Kakashi gave an unenthusiastic 'toot' from his party favor, an askew party hat on his head.

Amaya ran up the stairs and switched on the lights as Sakura grabbed the candles before Naruto grabbed his chopsticks. "Itadakimasu," he said before plowing into his ramen. Broth flew out from the bowl and a noodle hit Sasuke in the face. Reaching up, he picked it off and glared at his blonde best friend. "Hn."

Sakura heard the Sasuke 'hn' and turned to ask him something when she saw something and chuckled. Sasuke raised a brow. "Hn?"

"You have soup on your face."

Sasuke blinked. "Hn?" he said trying to find it. He eventually gave up; looking cross-eyed at his nose was making him dizzy. Sakura giggled and grabbed a festively colored napkin from the table. "Here, let me get it."

Sakura rested her hand on his shoulder for balance as she tiptoed up, leaning her weight against him as she dabbed the bridge of his nose with the napkin. As she did this, Sasuke was trying very hard not to scream.

'_Why is she so close to me?'_

'It's called human contact. You should try it sometime. Very rewarding.'

'_No, because I get enough of it already from the dobe.'_

'**You're queer?!'** his inner gasped.

'_If that were true, you'd be gay too. You are me, after all.'_

'…Shut up.'

Sasuke inwardly smirked at his small victory when he felt Sakura shift closer, unwittingly burying his face in the crook of her neck.

'_Hm, Jasmine. It smells nice on her.'_

'**Love is in the air for Sasuke.'** his inner sang.

'_You're wrong,'_ he argued when he felt Sakura's hand accidentally brush his cheek. His heartbeat sped for a second, but soon returned to normal. It was small, but it was there.

'Told you so.'

Before he could retort, Sakura smiled. "There." she said, satisfied with her work. She slid down to her normal footing when she noticed the slightly flustered look on Sasuke's face. "Are you alright, Sasuke?" she asked worriedly.

"Aa," he replied and Sakura nodded at his yes before leaving him alone while he and his inner had a little chat about a certain pink-haired girl.


	11. Being Normal Was Overrated Anyway

(819): Sorry, I've been so busy with my other fics and revising, that I almost forgot this fic!

(102): Wah! Megumi-sama! You almost forgot our fic!

(819): Sorry, but with summer and my short-attention span and my recent addiction to things that are both good and bad for my health, you know…

(102): (glomp) It's alright.

(819): (turns blue) A-a-air….

(102): While I smother Megumi-sama with love, read and review.

(819): …save me…

**Disclaimer: We own nothing. We don't have the money or creativity to make or own such wonderful things as Miyavi or Naruto, so stop making us feel bad!**

* * *

Ch.10: Being Normal Was Overrated Anyway

Trees blew in the courtyard and leaves flitted down from the skies. As much as they wanted to describe the landscape as confetti leaves with their hues of red, orange, and yellow, Megumi and Amaya couldn't. The only trees in the courtyard were forever-green and there were always leaves on the branches and the girls sighed defeat at being denied once more the colorful wonderland that they had read about, but could only see in storybooks and romantic comedies.

Amaya walked over to the door, tugging the bottom of her older brother's old track sweatshirt as Megumi adjusted her scarf and rubbed her hands together to regain the sensation of having fingers.

"Megumi-sama, come on!"

Megumi nodded and hurried after her into the empty teacher's lounge, passing by the calendar on the wall. Besides it being fall, it was also one of her favorite days of the year. "Happy Friday the 13th, everyone!" Megumi exclaimed, Amaya adding in her own shout of glee.

Their alternate-universe friends just looked up and blinked at them, Sakura being the only one to reply. "Um…happy Friday the 13th to you too?"

The two girls ran down the stairs, Megumi whipping off her scarf. "How can you guys be so dreary when today is one of the most wonderful days of the year?!"

Kakashi turned the page after watching the girl twirl around the room. You'd think it was Christmas the way she was acting. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't your culture usually revere this day as horrible?"

"Not us. I like it cuz it's Friday the 13th and Megumi-sama likes it because she has lots of good luck on this day!" Amaya explained before running over to Megumi and jumping up and down with her. Strange that Megumi was displaying such uncharacteristic behavior today.

Naruto watched the two jump and down before watching Megumi suddenly stop and bend down to pick something up. "Twenty bucks! Alright!" she said holding up a green bill. "This is so awesome!!"

Sakura watched the girl pocket the money in her wallet when she noticed the strange pins on the face of her wallet. "Ne, Megumi-chan, can I see your wallet?"

"Sure." She smiled cheerfully and threw it towards her. Sakura nodded in thanks and looked through it as Sasuke walked across the room. "Megumi, are you alright?"

The two girls looked back. "Yeah."

"Why?" asked Amaya.

"I've never seen you so…happy. It's a bit…concerning," he said awkwardly, worrying about certain body parts in case she decided to hit him. After all, he never knew what happened when she got mad. With Sakura, she'd either yell at you, slap you over the head, or both. Naruto would shout at you and challenge you in some way. Gaara would just use a smoldering glare against you and probably use his sand against you. Kakashi would glare at you and while it didn't seem like much, he'd seen missing-nin wet their pants when faced with his glare and that was just for one second.

Sasuke steeled himself for the impact, but what happened next was beyond his scope.

Megumi smiled at him like a mother would and pinched his cheek. "Silly Sasuke-kun," she chided gently before skipping up the stairs to do a scale on the piano. Sasuke blinked in absolute shock before turning behind him to see he wasn't the only one stunned by her behavior.

As Gaara closed his mouth and Kakashi and Sakura rubbed their eyes, Naruto pinched himself and turned to Amaya. "Did you guys switch brains?"

Amaya giggled. "No. Megumi's just in a really good mood. After all, she had a lot of good stuff happen to her today; plus, she got a piece of cake from her friend." A crash was heard upstairs and a faint 'I'm alright' followed before Amaya smiled indulgently. "I better go check on her."

Amaya walked up the stairs slowly and turned to her left to see Megumi sprawled over a few chairs. "Eto…Megumi-sama, are you alright?"

Megumi giggled like a 5-yr-old. "That was fun!"

Amaya sweatdropped. This was bad.

"Cucumbers!"

Correction, this was really bad.

Amaya walked over to the girl and began to shove chairs off her and helped her friend up. "I'm going to take you downstairs and get you some water, okay?" Megumi just giggled and Amaya brought her downstairs where Naruto stared at the girl. "Is she alright?"

"Yeah. I just need to get her some water," Amaya answered, digging into her friend's backpack and giving Megumi her water bottle. Sasuke watched the girl drink the water and turned to Amaya. "Any explanation for this?"

Amaya chuckled nervously. "You see, this is another reason why she doesn't like to eat sweet things. When she eats sugar, she kinda sorta gets sugar high. It doesn't take much which is why she rarely eats candy."

"Then why did you let her eat sugar?" Gaara asked. After all, if you know someone has a problem with something, you shouldn't give it to them. That would be like giving alcohol to someone in the AA program.

Amaya scratched her head nervously. "You see…"

Sakura watched the girl fidget and it hit her. "You gave her the cake!"

Amaya let out a small 'Eep', but before they could throttle the girl, Megumi suddenly sat up dazedly, blinking a few times as she looked around. "Eh? What happened and why do I feel so tired?" she asked swaying slightly in the chair as she pressed the heel of her palm to her left eye.

Sakura froze, her hand still fisted in the front of the cowering Amaya's shirt. "Nani?"

"You mean you don't remember anything?" Kakashi asked from his chair, Icha Icha still open in his hand.

"Remember what? Did I do something?" Megumi asked as she nursed the pounding headache in her skull. God, what did she do? Smash her head into a truck? Or maybe it was her history textbook…

Kakashi looked back into his book calmly. "Oh nothing. You just flashed us all. Nice bra by the way."

Megumi's face became blank for a good five seconds before she screamed, "WHAT?!" She immediately turned to the rest of her friends, bowing repeatedly. "I'm so sorry for what I did. Please forgive me. I'm sorry. I'm sorry! I'm—"

"Um…Megumi-chan?"

Megumi halted her apologetic rant. "Yes, Naruto-kun?"

"Um, sensei was just messing with you. You didn't flash us at all."

Megumi's face fell. "Oh."

Suddenly, she became very withdrawn and turned to Kakashi who just blinked at the girl. A murderous aura leaked into the air around her as her shoulders began to tremble and quake. A finger lifted and pointed at him. "Kakashi…I'm giving you three seconds to run before I kill you. One."

A blink.

"Two."

Another blink and an increase in the tension in the air.

"Three."

And before Kakashi could blink once more, he felt his head jarred back and forth as she vigorously shook his vest. From the glimpses between the wall and her flushed (and embarrassed face seeing how she was close to tears), he could tell that she was sitting in his lap as she throttled him, which didn't feel too bad actually. And as she continued to shake him for the chuckle that escaped his lips, he realized that she wasn't the only lucky one this Friday the thirteenth.

* * *

Days turned to weeks and soon, it was October 29th. At a familiar prodding, Megumi looked up from her desk groggily as one of her best guy friends told her school was over, but not before slipping in a 'get some sleep when you get home.' She smiled gratefully, touched her friend cared about her so much and flashed him a smile before going to the cooking club.

Dropping her stuff on one of the blue chairs, she stuck her headphones in her ears and began to bob her head to the music as they called attendance. Suddenly, she felt a finger prod her shoulders and she looked up to see one of the seniors. "Yes?"

"Have you seen Amaya?"

Megumi blinked. "She isn't here?"

"No, so any idea where she is?" Megumi shook her head. She really didn't have any idea where her friend was. As she watched the girl walk to the other side of the room, talking about tapioca or something, Megumi solemnly put the phones back into her ears. "I hope she's alright," she told herself and got lost in the music, but not losing the worry that gripped her heart.

* * *

The door slid open soundlessly as six figures slipped into the dark room. Amaya flipped on the light. "Alright, so when Megumi-sama comes in, we—" Amaya suddenly noticed how still her shinobi friends were and looked behind her to see Megumi glaring up at them as she tapped her foot from her seated position. Her elbows rested on each armrest, her fingers making a pyramid as she held them in front of her lips. She did not look happy.

She stood up and crossed over to them. "Where have you been?"

Amaya looked to the side, stealthily tucking an object behind her. Luckily, Megumi hadn't noticed, but she hadn't given the girl an answer and flinched at her friend's glare.

"Do you know how worried I've been? When they told me that you weren't here, I was fine, but you never showed up and you always tell when you're gone and I was afraid you were kidnapped or something."

Amaya looked at her. "I didn't think—"

"Yeah, well, you don't think!" Megumi retorted hotly and Amaya glared. "Hey. Look, I'm sorry that I didn't tell you I was gone, but you don't have to be so pissed at me!"

"Well, sorry for caring!"

Amaya stared, stunned at her outburst and watched as tears slid down Megumi's face. She reached forward to comfort her friend when Megumi suddenly turned her face to the side and wiped the tears with her sleeve. "I can't help it. All I really have in this world are my friends and I can't help it if I care about you and—God dammit! Why the hell am I crying?! I'm supposed to be mad at you," she sniffled as she used her sleeve to wipe the tears that spilled from her eyes. Suddenly, she felt arms encircle her shoulders. "I'm sorry."

"You better be," she sniffled.

"And besides, it's your birthday and you can cry if you want to," Amaya said hugging her friend. Megumi chuckled at the reference to one of their favorite songs and hugged her friend back. "Yeah, you're right."

The girls flashed a smile to each other and separated to see the shinobi fidgeting awkwardly. Megumi bowed her head. "Gomen."

Naruto shook his head. "It's okay."

Megumi nodded with a smile and thanked Amaya for the tissue before blowing her nose. "So where did you guys go?"

Amaya chuckled. "Well, you see…"

_Flashback_

"_What?!" Sakura screamed causing the sleeping Sasuke to suddenly fall from his chair and Naruto to spill his ramen on the floor. _

_Amaya blinked. "It's Megumi-sama's birthday today! I told you guys this two weeks ago and you forgot?!"_

"_But didn't you just tell us that you didn't remember until this morning?" Gaara asked as he unrolled the scroll in his lap a bit more, smirking to himself at her new-found silence. Now to read some more…_

_Amaya sputtered incoherently before getting an evil look in her eyes. "So, what did you get her, Gaara?" she asked delighting in the way his body tensed and how he sat rigidly in his seat. Mentally cackling, she turned to her other friends. "That reminds me, how about you guys? What did you get her?"_

_Silence and Amaya found herself sputtering once more. "You mean you all forgot?!"_

"_Didn't you figure it out the first time you asked?" Sasuke snapped. First he had to deal with Sakura's mood swings then he had finally gotten some sleep after Naruto had stopped snoring and now he had to deal with her mood swings on two hours of sleep. Really, this was wonderful._

_Amaya blinked. "Oh yeah."_

"_Why don't we just go shop for her present today afterschool then?" Sakura asked._

_Amaya shrugged. "Sure."_

_And so, as soon as school let out, Amaya got the gang together and headed for the mall, stopping once again in Borders. As they walked around the store, shelf after shelf, Naruto asked, "What should we get her?"_

_Amaya simply shrugged. "I don't know. What do you think she'd like?"_

"_That's the problem! I don't know what she'd like!" Naruto shouted._

"_She really is a mystery…" commented Kakashi. Even after roughly two and a half months together, none of them really knew her that well unless she told them. Surprisingly enough, it was the same way with Amaya, but she was more open about her likes and dislikes._

"_Oh. Well, she was corrupted at an early age so if you get her a romance novel or a perverted manga, she wouldn't really care. She's really open-minded about stuff like that…or she's really apathetic. She likes rock music and art and she reads a lot so manga and gift cards are good starters. Just don't get her teeny-bopper stuff or yaoi."_

_With a nod, the shinobi split up. Gaara was about to walk away when he noticed Amaya hadn't moved an inch. "Aren't you going to get her something?"_

"_I got her something already!"_

_This piqued his interest. "Really? What?"_

"_It's a secret," she said placing a finger to her smiling lips and for reasons unknown, he smiled at her childish behavior and walked away._

_After a few minutes, they came back with various items and Amaya went to pay for them before they left the store._

_End flashback_

"So you guys were missing because you went to get my birthday presents?" Megumi asked quietly.

"Yup," Naruto grinned.

Megumi's head drooped. "Now I really feel bad for yelling at you. Forgive?" Megumi asked.

"Hai!" Amaya replied, hugging her friend once more when they heard Naruto ask, "Are you two in a relationship?" The two girls suddenly leapt away from each other. "No."

"I'm straight," Amaya said pointing to herself.

"And I'm…I'm…I don't know. But I know I'm not lesbian," Megumi stated. _'Though I have nothing against them.'_

"You've just killed a perfectly good fantasy," Kakashi said with feigned disappointment.

"Speak for yourself," Sasuke said pushing past the silver-haired man and depositing a small box into her hands. "Oh, thank you."

"Hn, whatever. Can we just get off the stairs before you open it?"

Megumi blinked at Sasuke before it hit her. "Oh, right." She walked to the table, hearing their footsteps behind her when she sat down and looked at the box in front of her before opening it. Inside was a small round light in the shape of a frog. "It's…"

"It's a reading light," Sasuke elaborated.

"I knew that. It's…"

"Crappy, I know," Sasuke interjected.

"No…" She looked up at him. "It's cute," she said flashing him a smile and if you looked hard enough, you could see his cheeks tinge pink. "Hn."

Megumi looked up and saw all the other gifts piled on top of each other. Blinking up at the faces that smiled patiently at her, she hesitantly reached for the white wrapping paper with multi-colored balloons and opened it to find a book. "Japanese cooking 101."

"Amaya-chan told me you liked to cook and you loved Japanese food, so…" He stopped when he felt arms wrap around him. "Thanks, Naruto-kun. I love it," she smiled before returning to her seat once more. Naruto just flashed her a smile.

Setting aside the book with the frog, she reached for the black box wrapped with gold ribbon. She carefully pulled the ribbon and removed the lid to see a small art book with a note attached. "'I heard you like art.'" She looked up at him questioningly.

"Hn."

She wanted to hug him as thanks, but it would've been awkward for the both of them so she flashed him a smile and he gave her a smirk.

Amaya looked at the last two present on the table. One was a white box with a pink ribbon and the other box was wrapped in a Japanese newspaper. Megumi reached for the white and pink box and opened it to see an ikebana book. Sakura winked at her. "Something to do when you're bored."

Megumi nodded and gave her a hug before opening the Japanese newspaper. Inside the box was…"A gift card?" she asked looking up at him while Amaya sweatdropped.

Kakashi shrugged. "You aren't limited to just one thing." He did have a point. Though gift cards usually required little thought, they were extremely versatile. You didn't have to spend it on just one thing, but you could use it for a whole bunch of things. _'Look underneath the underneath.'_ Strange how it could apply to him, but the more she thought about it, the more it made sense. Kakashi sure was a mystery, but she liked mysteries.

Smiling, she placed the gift on the table and hugged him before sitting on her chair once more. She was in the process of putting away all her gifts when she heard Amaya clear her throat. "Yes?"

"Megumi-sama, you forgot about me this time!" Amaya whined.

"Oh, gomen. What did you get me?"

Amaya smiled mischievously. "Oh nothing…" she said slipping a CD into her friend's hands. She watched Megumi stare at the seemingly blank CD before she noticed the words scrawled on the shiny disk. "This—This—This is the mixed CD! This is the mixed CD with Miyavi on it!"

"And Gackt and High and Mighty Power and Utada Hikaru and all the other people you like," Amaya answered, laughing as Megumi screamed loudly. She hugged the CD and squealed before hugging the gift-giver. "I love you."

"And you're acting like a fangirl," Amaya remarked and Megumi pouted. "Well, it's your fault for introducing me to Miyavi."

"Hai hai."

A few minutes passed and the small party continued until Megumi's watch went off. She looked at it. "5:15…I have to go now if I want to catch the next bus home." Giving a small goodbye, Megumi scooped up her gifts and the two left the building and headed home.


	12. Ch 11: Strange and Violent Days

(819): Sup?

(102): Hiya!

(819): You got anything to say?

(102): Yes. Please, someone else beside Megumi-sama read my fic! It's the only one I'll have on there since I deleted my last story and it has pictures! Orochimaru is in it and it's full of vampyres! Please read it!

**Disclaimer: We don't own nothin'. **

* * *

Ch.11: Possibly the Strangest and Most Violent Holiday of the Year (Aside From Black Friday)

Sasuke awoke to the smell of hot rice billowing into the air with just a hint of…

'_Carrots?'_

Sasuke looked up to find, indeed, a small mound of carrots rolled inside rice and nori sitting on the group of tables in the middle of the room. He walked over, looking past Naruto and Sakura to ask, "What the hell is that?"

Amaya replied in a similarly disgusted tone. "It's supposed to be sushi."

"Supposed to be?" he asked.

"We were supposed to make sushi," Megumi began, "but…"

"But those stupid idiots screwed it up! They didn't have enough rice! They didn't prepare the ingredients correctly! They didn't even have any tuna!" Amaya screamed angrily.

"What she said," Megumi stated eloquently.

Naruto smiled uneasily. "Calm down, it can't be that bad." He popped a piece into his mouth and his lips puckered. Sakura sent him a blank look. "That bad?"

He swallowed roughly. "Yeah."

Sasuke watched as Gaara ventured a piece and immediately began pounding his chest after swallowing. "It tastes like sand," he stated and after living in a desert his whole life, he would know.

As Sakura watched Megumi write a sign and place it over the sushi saying 'Caution, biohazard. Eat at your own risk.' Sakura had to wonder. "Why don't we just make our own?" she suggested gaining peculiar looks from every male around her. "What?"

"You suggested we make our own," Sasuke stated.

"Yes…Anything wrong with that?"

"Sakura, not to be rude or anything, but…your cooking sucks," Kakashi stated bluntly.

"No, it doesn't," Sakura said.

"Sakura-chan, when we were genin and you said you were going to cook, you burnt the rice and you set the fish on fire. We had to eat my ramen that night. As much as I hate to say it, sensei is right; your cooking sucks," Naruto said as he remembered that night. Though it was nice that Sakura said she'd cook, they never trusted her with cooking duty again.

Sakura blinked innocently. "No, it doesn't."

"Sakura, really, we're serious. _Naruto_ is a better cook than you," Sasuke said knowing full well that all Naruto could really cook was salad and sandwiches. Anything outside the realm of instant ramen and those two items was automatically burned and deemed inedible.

"You guys do realize you've been had, right?"

The males of Team 7 blinked. "Huh?"

"All kunoichi know how to cook," Gaara stated.

"I'd be unfit to call myself a kunoichi if I didn't know how to cook," Sakura stated.

"Really?" Naruto asked.

"Yup. Name anything you want, I've probably made it."

"Onigiri?"

"Yup."

"Miso soup?"

"Yup."

"Sushi?" Gaara asked.

"Yup. Come on, guys; it's not like I'm going to kill you by cooking," Sakura said laughingly. At the uneasy look her male companions were giving her, she frowned. "Don't you guys trust me?" she asked.

"Yes…" they replied.

"So you'll let me cook?"

"Fine," Sasuke acquiesced and Sakura smiled. "You won't regret it."

And they didn't. It was some of the best damn sushi they ever had.

* * *

It wasn't long until Halloween came. After all, it was only two days after Megumi's birthday and the day after the sushi failure.

It was dark outside and the halls were empty and in the middle of the night, two figures snuck into the teacher's lounge.

* * *

Sakura flipped the pages of the magazine in her hand. Some teen fashion magazine. Strange that even though it was a teen magazine, the fashion seemed to be more for some no-holds-bar, paparazzi-flashing heiress (she'd learned that from her new female friends. Quite handy actually).

As she flipped the pages absentmindedly, she saw Gaara reading a book by a man named Charles Dickens, Kakashi reading Icha Icha, Naruto playing with a plastic top he found in the courtyard, and Sasuke dozing against the wall. She chuckled to herself. Sasuke always chose the strangest places to sleep. When they were genin, he'd sleep far away from them, even if it meant on a rock or an uncomfortable tree branch. Once, she even found him sleeping upside down from Naruto's ceiling.

Smiling to herself, she turned the page and heard the door open. Looking up, she saw Megumi and Amaya at the top of the stairs, but they looked different. Amaya wore a white dress with ruffles, black satin at the hem of each ruffle and a black satin ribbon around her waist and neck. She also had her hair in curls and makeup on with a pair of white stockings and a pair of black Mary-Jane shoes. She looked like a porcelain doll.

Megumi wore a black dress that trailed behind her. It had a clean-cut plunging neckline with triangular scraps of fabric around the neckline. There was a slit at the left side of her thigh that widened to expose her left leg and (at the right angle) part of her right. The back end of the dress was tattered and her sleeves hung loosely at her wrists. She wore black heels, had black nail polish, and on her head was a wide-brim witch hat with a purple ribbon and a gold buckle.

Megumi smirked at the stunned faces below her before sliding down the rail and landing with ease at the bottom. "What?" She tugged on the neckline. "Too revealing?"

"Y-y-you're wearing a dress," Naruto stammered.

"Yes…"

"We've never seen you wear a dress," Sakura said looking the girl over and saw she got a hair cut. It was layered and her bangs fell over her right eye and cheek.

"Yes. It's a rare occasion that Megumi-sama wears a dress, but she wanted to be a witch for Halloween and it was part of the costume. Speaking of costumes," Amaya said. "Ja-an!" she cried as both girls pulled out clothing from the large paper bags.

"Um, what are those?" Sasuke asked.

"Halloween costumes."

"But you guys already have costumes on," Naruto pointed out. Amaya giggled. "They're for you guys."

"WHAT?!"

Megumi rolled her eyes. "You said that when Halloween came along, you'd dress up and come trick-or-treating with us. Don't you remember?"

Naruto blinked. He remembered that conversation.

"Nani? You were serious?"

"Halloween is always serious business," Megumi said handing him his costume before handing Sakura and Sasuke theirs, a pair of instructions tucked in each costume.

After that was done, the two girls walked over to the second floor of the teacher's lounge, listening to the sound of clothes hitting the ground. Frankly, the two of them really didn't care if they changed in front of them. Amaya had friends send her things on the internet that were probably worse and Megumi had a little brother that wouldn't and didn't know the meaning of modesty if it bit him in the ass. Thank god they had gotten separate rooms a few years ago.

Suddenly, the rustling stopped and the girls looked over the balcony or the stairs before walking back down. Sasuke looked disapprovingly at his costume. It was a baggy T-shirt and matching pants in a sea-foam color with bandages coated in red paint that encompassed most of his body. He frowned.

"This is degrading."

"Speak for yourself, teme. I look hot!" Naruto said as he titled his hat slightly and cracked his whip. "What are you supposed to be anyway?"

"I'm supposed to be a patient with bloodied bandages," Sasuke replied, cringing as the bandages on his left wrist sagged limply. He sighed and began unwrapping it. "What are you supposed to be?"

"I'm India John!" Naruto proclaimed proudly and Megumi chuckled behind him as she helped straighten his clothes. "I think you mean Indiana Jones," she said pulling on his brown jacket.

"Right," Naruto said with a foxy grin on his face before turning to Sakura. "What are you supposed to be, Sakura-chan?"

Sakura's costume was a white button-up short-sleeve shirt with a white mini-skirt that went mid-thigh. On her shirt were two red crosses, the same going for the small hat that rested on her head. She had white stockings with white heels and a stethoscope around her neck. She frowned and Sasuke rolled his eyes. "She's a nurse, genius."

"Ohhh…"

_Meanwhile, on the other side of the room…_

Gaara glared, blatantly showing his disdain for the costume provided for him. It was all black (which he fully appreciated), but it was the way it was made. Black boots with black leather pants and a matching shirt; buckles adorning every inch of the clothing, including the boots. "No."

"But it's J-rock, Gaara-sama. J-rock is greatly appreciated and besides, that's not all of the costume."

"There's more?" he asked, his eye twitching slightly. Dear Kami-sama in the sky, what was it? A matching mask?

Amaya smiled. "Of course, silly. I still have to do the make-up!"

At this, Gaara's face became stony. "No."

"Please?" she asked, her lips quavering as her eyes became wide and glossy and somewhere in the world, a man cried at the cuteness. Gaara, on the other hand, having been dealt with his hormonal sister (since Gaara became mentally stable, she was safe to release three years of backed-up hormones) who, whenever she wanted something, would pout and whine and cry. After a few weeks, he became immune (though Kankuro on the other hand…), and with his immunity, he looked her square in the eye. "No."

And then came the waterworks. "Wahhhhhh!" she cried and Gaara clamped his hands over his ears. God, she was worse than the time Temari wanted 'that cute top in the window' and some girl bought it before she could and since it was the last one, she cried for _three_ **fucking** hours.

He sighed. There were only three ways to deal with a woman in this state.

Number one: Run away.

Nope. He had nowhere to run too. This was a safety zone from those freaks that tried to maul/rape him at the mall. In fact, this _was_ the safety zone.

Number two: Kiss her.

Like with Temari, this answer came with a big fat red circle with a line going through it that screamed 'No.'

Leaving the third choice which was…

Gaara sighed and with a heavy heart, swallowed his pride and stuck out his hand. "Give it here."

Giving in and as soon as he did that, her tears stopped and he found himself encased in her arms. "Yay!!"

A blush encompassed his face. Sand. Where was his friggin' sand?

'_Then again, if my sand did its job, she might be dead by now.'_

He pushed her away. "Hn. How do you get this thing on me?" he muttered as he shrugged off his gourd and fumbled with the multiple buckles on the outfit.

She smiled. "Here…"

Megumi watched from the other side of the room as Amaya helped Gaara into his costume. It was a breeze for her. She'd been around clothes for years since she was a cosplayer. She even made her own clothes. A small mirror rested in Megumi's hand; she was going to ask her for help on Sakura's makeup since she didn't know a thing about makeup…or hair…or much about clothing (was there anything about the female persona that she did understand?), but Amaya was having a moment with Gaara and she'd leave the two alone. Suddenly, a frustrated groan was heard.

Megumi looked around the room. Naruto? No, busy arguing with Sasuke about their costumes. Sakura? Likely, seeing how she was getting annoyed by the two. Gaara? Probable, due to the fact that his costume was very complicated, but not likely. Amaya? No, she wasn't mad, and it wasn't her, so…

The raven-haired girl turned her head to see Kakashi looking at his clothes with disdain.

"Kakashi?"

The silver-haired man looked up in surprise, pausing the rant in his mind for the moment to pay attention to the girl. "Yes?"

"Is everything alright?"

Kakashi huffed and crossed his arms. Yes, he was acting like a child, but he had a very good reason. "No."

"Why not?"

"My costume makes a mockery of me," he replied calmly.

"Really?"

He could feel her look his costume over. A pair of tattered brown pants that went to his mid-calf, an old blue shirt with equally tattered sleeves that went past his wrists, bandages that wrapped around the lower portion of his torso, and a straw hat. Straw stuck out from various parts of his costume and in his hand was a raven plushie. She blinked up at him. "So? It's cute."

"So? So? Having my costume be a pun about my name is not cute. This costume is not cute; it _itches_. And this straw is poking in places that should not be touched with a piece of straw," he said muttering angry curses under his breath.

Really, it was bad enough that he had to dress up as something that mocked him, but the raven toy and the straw were too much. The only consolation was the fact he could keep his mask on. Oh well, at least he wasn't tacked to some wooden posts like a traditional scarecrow. That, and he had an eye patch which lead him to the question of why couldn't he have been a pirate?

Before he could further the thought, he felt something touch his hat and something leave his hand. Looking around his person, he found his hat tilted up slightly and the raven out of his hands and in hers. When she noticed him looking at her in question, she donned a smile and petted the toy. "What? You said it further mocked you and every witch needs her familiar."

Before he could ask her what she was really up to, Amaya climbed onto a table and shouted, "Okay, we're going to have a trick-or-treating contest. We'll split into groups of two with one group of three and we'll go around the neighborhood getting candy. Group with the most candy wins!"

"What do we win?" Sasuke asked. This made Amaya pause.

"Uhhh…you don't have to make popcorn for the movie later?"

Sasuke shrugged. "Aa." It beat doing manual labor. Carry a sack, steal some candy, how hard could it be?

* * *

_With Gaara…_

Gaara walked with a dark scowl, arms crossed over his chest with an air of boredom and disdain around him. He turned to the girl skipping cheerfully at his side, a Halloween pail in the shape of a ghost in her hands before letting his gaze stray to the blonde who was shouting to the skies about how he was going to fill his paper bag full of candy and beat Sasuke-teme. Gaara rolled his eyes.

"How did we get stuck with him again?"

"We drew straws and you drew the short straw," Amaya answered when Naruto stopped in the middle of the block. "Come on, Amaya-chan! I think I found a house!"

"Candy!" she squealed happily.

Gaara watched Amaya run towards him, her dress fluttering behind her as he walked slowly behind. He never understood this holiday. He understood the pagan ritual behind it, but commercialism seemed to have sucked the fun out of it. It was no longer about dressing up and scaring other people silly; it was about candy brands and strange objects to stick on your house. As he walked, he saw Amaya and Gaara jump around in a circle, a happy grin on their faces and Gaara had to wonder why he felt like this was going to be a baby-sitting job rather than an outing for free candy.

"Gaara, get your butt over here!"

"Gaara-sama, hurry up!" Amaya called out to him and it seemed that, as much as he wanted to go slower to spite Naruto, once Amaya called him over, his feet had other things in mind. Not wanting to even bother with fighting his body, he moved slightly faster and three minutes later, he was standing with them in the middle of the block.

The house they stood in front of was like many other houses on the block. Two stories, but unlike the Spanish-style houses beside it, this light blue house was Victorian in architecture. It had a well-kept lawn with a white picket fence in front and lawn flamingos and lawn gnomes. Along the brick walkway was a string of lanterns and in the windows were cut-outs of skeletons and bats. The three walked up the path (actually, two walked, the other was forcibly dragged) and rang the doorbell and an elderly woman opened the door, a pair of cat ears and six black streaks on her face. She was a cat.

"Trick or treat!"

"Ooh! Trick-or-treaters. My, what wonderful costumes," the woman smiled. Naruto gave her a grin. "Thanks!" Amaya gave a nod.

Gaara watched from the back as the woman gave them candy when she looked up at him. "Don't you want any candy too?"

He blinked. The question caught him off-guard. As much a he hated sweets, he didn't want to be the one have to microwave popcorn and smell like artificial butter. Hesitantly, he walked towards her and held out his generic paper bag. Judging by her expression, she couldn't make heads or tails of his costume. To be honest, he couldn't either. He just went with whatever Amaya said.

She looked at him expectantly and he blinked when he felt Amaya elbow him slightly. "Say trick or treat."

"Trick or treat," he murmured, but she kept looking at him. Apparently he hadn't said it loud enough, but before he could try again, he felt Naruto elbow him and he rubbed his arm and glared at the boy. "Smile, Gaara."

Smile? He wanted him to smile? Wasn't it bad enough that Amaya forced him to leave his gourd back at the school? Sure, he was exhibiting the classic signs of separation anxiety, but he never left without his gourd and when he did leave, he swore he could feel his sand's distress…or maybe that was his? But still, smile? Scowls, grim lines, hell, even a smirk, but a smile?! He sneaked a glance at Amaya to find her opinion on this matter when he saw her pouting up at him. Was the entire world against him on this matter?

Sighing in defeat, he held out his bag and forced the corner of his mouth to twitch into what he hoped was a smile. "Trick or treat."

The older woman paled and her eyes widened considerably. "Just take it! Just take it and go away!" she screamed, shoving the entire contents of her large glass bowl and the money from her purse before slamming the door. From inside, they could hear locks falling and the lights turn off and the curtains close.

They stood there, blank expressions on their faces as they blinked. Then Naruto reached into his bag and grinned. "Hey, twenty bucks!"

_With Sasuke and Sakura…_

"This is stupid."

"No, it isn't."

"Yes, it is."

"Okay, then how is it stupid?"

"Well?"

"Dammit, answer me, Uchiha!" Sakura shouted, hands on her hips as she leaned slightly towards him. Unfortunately, she didn't realize that she was giving him a very good view down the plunging neckline of her costume. All she saw was a flustered Uchiha.

"Hn."

Miffed, she turned away, but when she looked back, he saw that he was covered in girls, some as young as seven. A little girl walked up to him. "Hey mister, do you want some candy?"

He gave no response, but she went ahead anyway and reached into her bag. "It's a Crunch bar. They're my favorite, but I'll share them with you," she said dropping three into his paper bag. Sasuke paused and looked at his bag slowly before turning to her. Before he could stop himself, he smiled at the girl and ruffled her hair. His hands were calloused slightly from years of fighting, but she didn't seem to mind.

"Thank you."

The little girl smiled and hopped away to her mother before stopping to wave goodbye and began to walk away once more. The women stared after the tiny girl before looking into their own bags and grabbing handfuls to shove into his bag. "Do you like Skittles?"

"How about Butterfingers?!"

"I have chocolate!"

Sasuke watched, unfazed, but he smirked inwardly. This was easy.

* * *

Sakura watched as girls fawned over Sasuke while he stood calmly, almost looking like he was bored out of his wits. He probably was. I mean, getting chased by girls can only give you a thrill for so long before it gets old…or annoying. Sakura winced. _'Did that used to be me?'_

'**Yup.'**

'_God, I was so desperate back then.'_

'**Yup.'**

'_You know, that means you too?'_

'**I know. I've accepted it and dealt with it a long time ago.'**

'_You've matured a lot.'_

'**You haven't done too bad yourself.'**

'_Thanks.'_

Suddenly, Sakura felt fingers wrap around her arm and she was ready to shout when she looked up and saw Sasuke. "Sasuke-kun?"

"Sorry girls, I already have a girlfriend," Sasuke shouted over his shoulder, eliciting disappointed moans from his female followers. Sakura blinked, her face as red as a beet.

"Ano, Sasuke-kun, I'm not—"

"Just shut up and walk Haruno," he said pulling her along as he walked briskly ahead. She turned to him testily and he glanced back and she followed his gaze to the group of menacing women huddled together sending her dirty looks.

So that's why he told her to move.

* * *

"How much did we get from her?" Sasuke asked as they departed yet another house. The elderly woman who handed them the candy looked at them strangely. Really, it was like she'd never seen a seventeen-yr-old teen wrapped in bandages and another one in a revealing nurse outfit.

"Three small candy bars and two lollipops," Sakura answered fingering the candies.

"She gypped us," he murmured.

"What?"

"She gypped us. The two little kids before us got three lollipops," he muttered.

"So? Jeez, Sasuke. It's just a contest to get out of making popcorn. All you do is stick it in a microwave. It doesn't matter if we win or lose."

Sasuke turned to face her, sharingan revealed as he clenched his jaw. "Uchihas never lose."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Whatever." She looked around the block. _'Kindergarteners, little kids, little kids, giant bunny, turtle, ladybug, house lights are off, off, off, of—'_

"Hey, how about there, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked pointing to the open garage door with strobe lights. When she heard no response, she turned to see Sasuke was still sulking about her comment about his need to win. _'Get over yourself,' _she thought in annoyance.

"Are you coming, Sasuke?"

"Hn."

"Fine! I'll get the candy _BY MYSELF_ and when I find Naruto, I'll give it _TO HIM_!" Crossing the street in a huff, she walked up the driveway and that's when Sasuke realized the full brunt of her words.

"Now now, Sakura, let's not do anything hasty," he said following her. She simply ignored him and walked up to the guy standing outside the garage. "Hey."

"Hey cutie. Come for the party?" the guy asked. He had blonde hair and brown eyes and was dressed up with a pair of devil horns, a trident, a red cloak, and was swinging his tail in his right hand.

"I don't have an invite," she said with a girlish smile.

"I'm sure I can get you in," he said smiling darkly and trailed a finger along her jaw line. She giggled. Sasuke seethed. _'Don't start what you can't finish, Haruno.'_

"Actually, I wanted to ask if you had any candy. You see, my friends and I made a contest where whoever gets the most candy wins," Sakura said holding the paper bag in her hands. Sasuke watched like a hawk from the curb.

"Hey Josh, what are you doing out here and—hey, who's your friend?" asked the guy in the vampire costume.

"Sakura," the pink-haired medic introduced herself. The vampire smiled and took her hand and kissed it. "Enchantè," he murmured to her. She giggled. This would be a piece of cake.

"So Brandon, wanna help? She needs some candy for a contest."

"Sure. I'll get the guys."

Sasuke watched as the male named Brandon walked into the garage. As much as he'd like to slaughter the suspicious male, news of a murder in this suburb would raise suspicions and Sakura would not be pleased. Instead, he kept a leash on himself and waited patiently. Besides, he knew it was all an act. It was a common tactic in their line of work, but nonetheless, he didn't like it. Especially since she was dressed like _that_.

Soon, Brandon returned with a group of guys, each holding a bag of candy and Sasuke smirked to himself as they began entering the candy into her paper bag mindlessly; too busy drooling to really pay attention. Really, he didn't understand why everyone made a big deal about this. Trick-or-treating was a piece of cake. But he noticed the guys were moving around her and saw something. He ran.

* * *

Sakura smiled and laughed when Josh said she reminded him of this cartoon his little brother watched when she felt someone grab her by the shoulder and pull her away and she just managed to close the bag together with only two pieces of hard candy falling out of the bag.

She stumbled backwards, trying to keep pace with Sasuke as best she could as he pulled her backwards away from the house, only letting her stop when they reached the street corner. She tore herself out of his slackened grasp and turned around. "What the hell was that for?" she demanded, fists balled at her sides.

Sasuke snorted and folded his arms over his chest. "He pinched your butt."

Sakura's face fell. "Oh."

And they walked in silence after that and luckily for him, Sakura had forgotten all about giving her candy to Naruto.

_With Kakashi and Megumi…_

"Come on."

"No."

"Come on!"

"No."

"One more house. Please!"

"No."

"Come on!"

"No," snapped Kakashi. At her shocked face, he sighed and took off his hat, running slightly calloused fingers through silver hair. "Why do you even care? It's not that bad if we lose," he amended.

"I don't want to smell like artificial butter!" she shouted, one hand in the air as another pointed to herself. She took a breath and seemingly calmed down. "Look. One more house. My little brother got grounded and I promised to snag some candy for him cuz he missed out this year."

"Why doesn't he go buy some?"

"That's why he got grounded. My mom gave him money to buy the candy for the trick-or-treaters. He bought the candy, but he ate it all and my mom was so pissed, she grounded him after she had to clean up the vomit in the bathroom."

"Oh."

"And the little moocher begged me to get him some in exchange for some CD's he stole from me," she explained as they walked down the block.

"Oh…he stole from you?"

"Wouldn't be the first time. Damn klepto," she said rolling her eyes. "Oh wait. I think I see a house."

She led them to a white house with green trim. There were two hedges that bordered the stairway leading to the front door. They walked up, Megumi picking up her dress and Kakashi stuffing his hair back under his straw hat before she rang the doorbell. He could make out the sounds of heels before the door opened and his eye widened. In the doorway was a massive man wearing a white dress, a crown, white heels, wings, and makeup and—was that a wand in his hand?

"Hello."

Megumi blinked. "Trick or—Mr. Schmidt?"

The man blinked. "Megumi?"

Megumi grinned as Kakashi blinked. She knew this guy? "Hi Mr. Schmidt. How have you been?"

The man chuckled. "Oh, great. And look at you in that sexy little number," he said pointing his wand at her dress. She giggled. "Thanks."

"So you're a witch and—oh! You brought a friend. He's hot."

"He's taken," she said hastily and Kakashi sent her a grateful look as he tried to steady his heartbeat. The man smiled knowingly. "Okay, I won't bother your boyfriend anymore."

"He's not my boyfriend."

"I'm not her boyfriend," Kakashi interrupted.

"Really, it's fine. I won't tell your parents that you're dating an older man," Mr. Schmidt said.

"But--I'm--he's--forget it," Megumi said exhaustedly. Kakashi sent her a pitying look, not noticing the man's thoughtful one. "You know, the two of you remind me of Wicked."

"The Broadway show?"

"Yeah! I always knew I liked you for some reason. So, want some candy?" he asked.

"Um, sure." She held out the bag and the two watched as he dumped the entire bowl (which was quite a lot) into her bag. She looked up at him fretfully. "Are you sure we can take this much? I mean—"

"Go ahead. You guys are the only ones who came to my house."

"Oh."

After exchanging a few smiles and goodbyes and more pop culture references than Kakashi cared for, the two descended the stairs. "Bye Mr. Schmidt!"

"Bye you two. Get home safe and happy Halloween!"

The two walked down the block from his house. They were only three houses away when Kakashi spoke up. "So…how do you know him?"

"Oh, he was my teacher freshman year," she answered.

"And you weren't surprised that he wore that?"

She shook her head and moved her arms closer together. "Well, he dressed up as Dorothy that year. Besides, didn't Gai dress any weirder in Konoha?"

Kakashi nodded reluctantly. Really, he didn't know what was worse. The fact he just saw a man dressed up as 'Glinda the Good Witch' or that he just had a flashback of the time Gai thought it good to dress up as Tarzan in a loincloth and only a loincloth. He had nightmares for weeks after that.

"Are you okay?" she asked stopping him while accidentally pressing her chest against him.

No. No. No. No indefinitely. "Yes," he said waving her off.

Lying was always the best policy.

* * *

When they got back, the school was quiet. Then again, it was about 9:30 at night. Kakashi opened the door and let Megumi go inside before going in himself. As soon as he got into the room, he heard a bag drop and Megumi ask, "What happened to you?!"

Kakashi looked over the stair rail to see Gaara doubled over in pain as he coughed, Naruto and Megumi looking at him worriedly as he hissed in pain. Amaya came over with a glass of water. "An old lady pepper-sprayed him when we went trick-or-treating. Here, drink this," she said handing him a glass of water. He took it thankfully, but the coughing made it a problem for him to drink, but he managed to get a sip or two.

"You should rinse your eyes out," Megumi suggested and he nodded. Slowly, Sasuke and Naruto walked him over to the sink when Kakashi asked, "How do you know?"

She played with the crow plushie in her hands. "I, um…I kinda accidentally touched my eyes after chopping up a jalapeno pepper. My skin was burning for about an hour and after two hours, my eyes were okay again. When I did that, my mom told me to wash it off as best I could," she replied.

Kakashi blinked at the girl, trying to choose between gaping at her stupidity or fearing for her safety. Before he could ask why she did that, Gaara had returned from the sink. Amaya dabbed his eyelids with a paper towel when Sakura pushed them aside. "Gaara, I'm going to need you to open your eyes, okay?"

Gaara nodded, but as soon as he did, he shut them again. "It burns," he hissed.

"I know, but if you want me to do anything to fix that, I need you to open your eyes."

Gaara nodded and sat silently for a minute before opening his eyes, the jade orbs focused on something that seemed miles away.

'_He put himself in a trance,_' Kakashi noted.

Sakura nodded in approval before focusing the chakra to her hands and placing them over Gaara's eyes. Her green chakra threaded themselves in and over his eyes, soothing the inflammation and irritation. She slowly removed her hands. "Better?"

"Much," he said before he went into a fit of coughing. Naruto looked to Sakura worriedly. "Can you do anything for his coughing?"

"Not really, but I can soothe his throat," she replied and put her hands to his throat. Amaya watched fretfully. When she was done, Amaya sat beside him, her hands folded in her lap as she bowed her head.

"I'm so sorry. I should've never pressured you to do this and you're hurt and it's all my fault and--"

A finger was pressed to her lips and Gaara smiled before coughing. "Next time you tell me to leave my gourd here, I'm going to call you crazy and bring it with me," he chuckled, causing another fit of coughing to occur. Amaya smiled and gave him a hug, whispering a small 'arigatou' in his ear. Though he didn't interact using human touch and this hug was the first contact that showed any love and he had frozen on contact, he hesitantly returned the gesture and decided that hugging wasn't so bad after all.

After a minute, she released him and he, unsure of what to do with his hands, let her return them to his lap before she and Megumi went to count the candy. Naruto sat before him. "How do you feel?"

"Like shit," he replied wryly.

"You sound like it too."

"Hn."

"We're done counting!" Amaya declared. "Winner's are Sasuke and Sakura with 624 pieces of candy, and the losers are Megumi-sama and Kakashi with 99 pieces."

"The difference was that much?" Megumi answered sounding slightly depressed.

"Hai, Megumi-sama. Gomen."

"It's okay. Now that I think about, you have it worse because you have to get the T.V. for the movie," Megumi smiled, grabbing popcorn from the table by the stairs and Amaya huffed before going to the back of the room and wheeling out the T.V. Megumi blinked. "I thought you had to get that down the stairs."

"Nope. I got it wheeled down through the cafeteria," she replied, tapping on the metal door in the teacher's lounge. Megumi hn'ed in response.

* * *

Kakashi sat at the back of the room, eye patch and hat tossed lazily onto a table after an hour of removing straw from various places in his body. He was 98 percent straw-free (the other 2 percent would be removed when he had a private moment). They had been watching a movie, The Nightmare before Christmas. He said 'had been' because most everyone had fallen asleep.

Naruto was slumped on a chair upstairs, deciding to turn in early after gorging himself on candy. Sakura was asleep on a chair in the kitchen area, Sasuke asleep with his head in her lap. Amaya was slumped over a table while Gaara slept peacefully on the therapist couch upstairs, his coughing having finally stopped. Amaya had worried herself sick when Gaara said he was having slight trouble breathing in the beginning and had exhausted herself, finally letting herself sleep half an hour after Gaara did.

Kakashi turned his attention from his friends to the flickering television. He didn't know why, but he liked Jack. It might have had to do with the dog or his ability to sing, but there was something charming about Jack. The dog was the deal-breaker. Now if only Pakkun could pick up a few tips from him…

A shift was felt on his shoulder and he looked down to see Megumi shuddering in her sleep. She was cold. It wasn't surprising. This room wasn't exactly known for heat retention and the fabric of her dress was thin. He was surprised she hadn't frozen outside, but she seemed fine. After all, she was sleeping soundly, but that probably had something to do with the fact she had some candy and crashed from her sugar-high only minutes ago. He chuckled at the memory of her half-awake state, murmuring something about cucumbers having a war with pickles and cabbage. She shuddered again and murmured in her sleep about the cold, clutching his jacket. Kakashi blinked for a minute, trying to think of what he could do. He couldn't just ignore her. She was a friend, but he couldn't take off his jacket not only because he'd freeze, but it would also wake her up. There was only one thing he could do.

Moving his arm, he draped it over her shoulder, moving her head to rest more comfortably against him. She gave a pleasured sigh and snuggled into the warmth he created before falling asleep once more. Kakashi chuckled softly, wondering how she could be so many people crammed into one body before he too, fell asleep.


	13. Ch 12: Bring Out the BandAids

Well, this is a solo fic now. Seems very strange to say the least, but oh well. I have another collab with Zenon102. (Sorry about the shameless advertising, but you should expect this from me by now.) Anyway, since I'm doing this on my own now, lots of the original plot work is going to be thrown out because some things are a stretch and others are just pointless filler. Don't get me wrong, it was fun planning everything out and it was going to be so cool, but when you look at things in hindsight, you sort of go 'what the fuck was I thinking?!'

Anyway, so I'm not sure when the next chapter is going to be (since I have larger projects I have to concentrate on, let alone my actual novels and this story is a bit…I don't know…boring), but I'm going to try my best to fit this stuff in. My style has changed a lot since the last time I really wrote anything for an OC fic. Wish me luck.

**(Warning: High Nonsense levels are in this chapter due to the ingestion of Pocky. Do not take any of this seriously. Repeat, don't take any of this seriously!)**

Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, do you think I'd actually let someone like Kakashi out of my sight?

* * *

Ch. 12: Bring Out the Band-Aids and Antacids, It's November.

Stale air suffocated her as the sounds of echoing chatter sought to drown her. It was Tuesday, the day before Thanksgiving break and students were clambering for final farewells and last-minute plans.

A clipped conversation reached her ears as Megumi cut into the opposite traffic of the hall to get to the teacher's lounge. Her hand rested on the doorknob as she felt her heart clench with slight worry. She hadn't gone last week since she had a doctor's appointment and staring at the wood grain of the door, she could only hope Amaya hadn't set anything on fire in her absence, though she shouldn't be one to talk. She had once set her hair on fire cooking, after all.

Opening the door, she was surprised to say the least. The furniture was all intact, the crumbling ceiling was for the most part, whole, and there were no scorch marks, nor the lingering smell of acrid smoke. Then again, if something had happened, she would've heard of it in a long, drawn-out announcement from the principal, her registry teacher, and the school bulletin. A grateful smile reached her lips.

"Why are you smiling, Megumi-chan?" Naruto asked suddenly, watching as the girl collapsed onto the floor in surprise. She placed her hand over her thumping heart.

"Holy—don't do that, Naruto!" she shouted as she felt her heart beat rapidly beneath her chest. Naruto looked at her, saddened.

"Sorry," he murmured. Megumi looked at him before sighing. "No, I'm sorry," she said ashamedly as she cast her eyes to the floor. A hand was held before her.

"It's okay." And she smiled gratefully. "You just owe me some ramen." She rolled her eyes with a sigh.

"Of course."

* * *

Footsteps were heard and Sakura looked up to see Naruto and Megumi walking down the stairs. She closed the two covers of her magazine. "So how was the doctor's?"

"Got my shots for college," she answered rolling back her sleeves to show the band-aids on her arm.

"You know, I could've just saved you the trouble," Sakura stated.

"It's okay. This stuff needs to be recorded anyway. What did you guys do last week, anyway?"

"Well…"

_Flashback_

_Sakura, Kakashi, Gaara, Naruto, and Sasuke all waited around the teacher's lounge. It was 3:30 and the students were just getting out of school. Just then, the door opened and they bolted to the ceiling, looking down through the cracks to see a woman with a white bonnet and a brown dress._

'_Wait…what?'_

"_I'm back!" Amaya shouted cheerfully to the drab grey ceiling as her friends fell from the ceiling with questioning looks. At the awkward silence between Amaya's large smile and their blinking eyes, Naruto decided to speak up._

"_Ne, Amaya-chan, what are you wearing?"_

"_I'm wearing a pilgrim costume since we're doing a mock Thanksgiving!" she explained. "I even got some for you!"_

_And if they thought the brown and black outfits were horrible already, it was nothing compared to the shame they felt when they put the outfits on and endured the itchy feel of sliding woolen socks._

_End flashback_

"Nothing," Sakura said with a dismissive wave and a nervous chuckle. Megumi blinked her eyes.

"If it's about the Thanksgiving costumes, I saw the pictures already."

"You did?" Sasuke asked looking up from a book he had garnered from the table below. It had been left behind by a careless student and Sasuke had been embroiled in the world of foreign language as he tried to figure out what this "pizza" item was, but it didn't seem that important now. His pride was at stake. He waited with baited breath.

"Yeah. It's not a big deal. I mean, I've seen worse from her," she deadpanned.

"Worse?" questioned Gaara from his spot in the corner. Megumi nodded dutifully. "She's taught me 75 percent of what I know about sex now. She's the reason I'm probably going to stay a virgin the rest of my life." Silence filled the room. "You thought I was the one with the S&M fetish, didn't you?"

"You were the most likely candidate out of the two of you," Kakashi admitted sheepishly. Megumi simply rolled her eyes and walked away and it was at that exact moment that Amaya came bursting through the door lugging a sack of potatoes. Sakura looked at her with exasperation.

"Why are you carrying a sack of potatoes?"

"I'm hungry!" she whined as she went down the stairs, the sound of the potatoes hitting the stairs falling into rhythm with her footsteps. Sakura stepped up and looked down at the girl. Her appetite was almost as bad as Naruto.

"So what are we going to make with all these potatoes?" Sakura asked opening the sack up and inspecting the dirt-covered spuds before chucking a potato with strange discoloration over her shoulder, listening to it splat against the wall as Megumi muttered a reply of 'mashed potatoes since we can't cook turkey in a toaster oven.' Waves of irritation whipped at her back.

"Watch it, Haruno. You could've hit me."

"I thought since you're the great Uchiha Sasuke, you'd have been able to sense it and dodge out of the way," Sakura returned, smirking to herself as she let the small thrill of victory washing over her. The sound of Naruto's muffled snickering reached her ears as well before she heard Sasuke hit the blonde over the head, causing a resounding thud to sound from contact with the main table. Sakura rolled her eyes. "Don't break it. That's my bed."

"Hn. Not my problem."

"You break it, I get your bed and you sleep on the floor with the ants."

"Let's be reasonable, Haruno," Sasuke said with a slight hint of unease in his voice, not at all comfortable with the idea of insects crawling into his clothes in his sleep. Last time that happened, he spent two hours removing squished insects from his skin. Who knew ants had so much puss in their bodies? "Why couldn't you just share my table?"

"Because you take up a lot of room with your height and besides, it's just not proper!" she said with a collective dramatic swoon from her female friends. Sasuke narrowed his gaze. Apparently, their influence was more powerful on Sakura than her old fangirl habits. Though it was supposed to be a comfort to Sasuke, he found himself not enjoying the idea of a Sakura-glomp-free world as much as he'd originally planned.

"Hn."

* * *

Wind nipped at their noses as the zephyrs howled in their ears, leaving said appendages numb in the bitter cold. A shadow was cast and a sharp prod was felt in his shoulder.

"Nnn…go away…"

Kakashi sighed and rolled his eyes before kicking the prone blonde off the cement box. Naruto landed with a moan of pain. "Your fault for letting yourself pig out on leftover turkey. We told you not to eat so much. Tonight, after we get back, you're training."

Megumi looked up. "There's been something I've been meaning to ask you guys. How do you train if you can't risk anyone seeing you?"

"We just do it at night and try not to break anything. You won't believe how many times we had to stop Sakura from punching the ground," he said with a cheerful smile that made the raven-haired girl inch away slightly. It wasn't his fault, but the idea of smiling in the face of possible death didn't exactly sit well with her. She went to the top of the stairs.

"So what are we doing again?" Sasuke asked taking the formally occupied spot by Kakashi. The silver-haired man simply shrugged his shoulders. Honestly, he didn't know what they were doing. All they told him was to tell everyone to dress in civilian wear and rest up the night before. Amaya skipped out of the school building with Gaara in tow.

"We're going to Black Friday!" she exclaimed before the group began walking towards the mall a few blocks behind the school. Sasuke frowned from his position beside Kakashi and shoved his hands into his pockets. "Sounds like some cult sacrifice party," he commented. Amaya shook her head and turned behind her.

"Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving where everything is on sale. It's great for shopping," she explained before the shinobi (excluding Gaara who was concentrating on keeping calm without his gourd again), looked to Megumi. She shrugged.

"It's my first time too."

"But you live here," Sasuke deadpanned. Megumi rolled her eyes. "Just because I live here, doesn't mean I go to these things. In case the baggy clothes didn't strike you the first time, I'm a _tomboy._ I don't go shopping."

"Hn."

Naruto popped out his head. "Is there any more—" And just as the word 'turkey' was about to fall out of his mouth, Naruto took a trip down memory lane and promptly stepped in a pile of fresh dog poop.

* * *

Colors blurred in front of her eyes. Shades of red lay everywhere, and in the midst of it all, a lone girl was seen lying on the floor. Megumi gripped her hand firmly.

"Amaya, what's the status report?"

"We've acquired everything, captain, but we have heavy casualties. Gaara-sama was taken down by one of the enemies, Naruto might have to have his left leg amputated, Sasuke-san has gone missing, and I…I don't think I can make it." Megumi looked upon her friend as tears welled in her eyes.

"Amaya, you can't. You said we'd be in this together no matter what! You promised! You promised!"

And Amaya looked at her friend sadly and reached up to cup her cheek, a serene smile on her face. "I'm sorry. It looks like a promise I can't keep," she whispered before her eyes fell closed and her body became perfectly still. Megumi nudged her friend's shoulder.

"Amaya…Amaya? Wake up. Wake up! Damn it, you can't die! You can't die! What about the rest of us, huh? What about me? _What about Naruto?!_"

"What about me?" the blonde asked as he exited the bathroom to see his friends lying on the carpeted floor of a department store, an array of bandages falling off Amaya's head as she sat up. Kakashi rolled his eyes.

"Really, was that necessary?" he asked as he recounted the over-dramatized words he had just heard. Gaara had merely bumped shoulders with a woman, Naruto had just put a slight strain on his ankle after miscalculating a hop down the stairs, and Amaya was just tired from running around from store to store. Honestly, he was getting tired too, which probably meant he was getting rusty if an hour or two of shopping had him tired. Maybe he should add a few more endurance exercises to his training. Megumi rolled her eyes.

"Of course. You guys were taking so long in there that we had to do something," she defended as she dusted of a stray rose petal from her shoulder and Amaya nodded beside her. Who knew that those store displays were good for something after all? Kakashi sighed.

"Fine. Fine, but can we go now? As enlightening as it was to learn the different types of socks, I really can't stand another minute here."

The two girls nodded, as well as Naruto and Sakura while Gaara consoled himself with the stuffed raccoon he found at one of the toy stores they went to. They were just about to leave the store when Sakura asked, "Where's Sasuke?" That raised a very excellent question. Where was Sasuke?

And as if on cue, Sasuke appeared from the dressing room wing of the store, a haunted look in his eyes as he muttered under his voice about cold hands and the overwhelming stench of perfume from the twenty-yr-old store helper on the second floor perfume department who had just helped herself to him. And out of an act of pity, Gaara handed over his beloved stuffed raccoon. Sasuke would need it a lot more than he did.


	14. Chapter 13: Hormonal Craze

Another chapter is in order I guess. Now that I'm making it a little more crack-like, it's more fun to write. Unfortunately, I don't have enough Pocky to last me for however many chapters I plan on having. I did recently acquire a cheesecake and have been falling off my rocker lately, so let's see where that takes me, shall we?

Note: I know Amaya has been having a small role lately, but GaaxOc-ness shall explode next chapter along with Sasusaku. Just bear with Megumi for now.

Disclaimer: If I did own Naruto, I wouldn't have to work for the rest of my life, but that would too easy now, wouldn't it?

* * *

Ch. 13: Hormonal Craze

It was Friday and as per usual, the school was abuzz with students pushing and shoving to get to wherever they had to go, but this time was different. Instead of the normally dead and blank faces that met her eyes, Megumi saw faces fit to explode with anxiety and happiness. She could understand. After all, it was almost winter break, the first real vacation people had during the school year and she would've run streaking down the halls to express her joy of this two-week freedom if it wasn't illegal and roughly forty—fifty-something degrees outside.

Watching as the students began to pour out of the school in droves, Megumi sat down on a bench to patiently wait for Amaya. A janitor came out and began sweeping away the remnants of the school fair they had earlier that day. It was their annual Winter Faire, but she didn't know why it was a fair seeing how it was more of an excuse to eat and watch the mediocre stylings of their school's cheer squad and song girls. Just then, the stoic girl was tackled from behind.

"Ack!" she screamed tipping forward as her arms began to flail wildly to regain her balance. Sure that she wasn't going to fall into the concrete, she turned back in anger.

"Amaya, why did you do that?!"

"Power-glomping is fun and you didn't suspect a thing, so I couldn't pass up the chance!"

Megumi growled. "You idiot! What if I hadn't regained my balance? I could've gotten hurt!"

"Oh, you would've been fine."

It was that moment that the school fell silent before a blood-curdling shriek echoed through the school and the clattering thunder of footsteps echoed the halls.

"Amaya, get back here!"

"No!"

"Yes, dammit! Get back here so I can kill you!" Megumi screamed swinging around her messenger bag.

With an exchange like that, it was no wonder the school thought they were gay for each other.

* * *

It was four o'clock, Sasuke observed from his hiding spot in the crumbling ceiling. Staring down at the people below him, he had to wonder how they hadn't been found out yet. These holes were large enough that someone could easily spot them if they bothered to look up and the ceiling was so decrepit that it could've given under their weight at any moment.

'_Hn. Idiots,'_ he thought with a scoff as he felt his eyes begin to stray towards his pink-haired ex-teammate. Actually, this had been happening a lot recently and though it was annoying how his eyes always trailed to her, it would be even worse if she caught him doing it. Not only would he be more annoyed having to explain himself, he would die of embarrassment and likely kill himself to avoid such a situation. It was a bit on the extreme side, but Uchiha Sasuke wouldn't be Uchiha Sasuke if he was not prideful.

'_Hm…she looks pretty today.'_

Hold it. Pause. Rewind. Did he hear that correctly? Did he just think she was _pretty?_ He did; he just thought she was pretty! When the hell did that happen?! I mean, sure, he had thought of other women as pretty—Kurenai-sensei was pretty, his mother was pretty, the woman who had run the vegetable stand when he was a kid was pretty—but not once in his life had he thought Haruno Sakura as pretty until now, so what changed? She was still the same pink-haired, green-eyed girl that would never be able to do a recon mission without a bottle of hair dye and contacts. She still had violent tendencies. She still screamed loudly, so what could've possibly changed his mind? So what if her tongue got sharper and wasn't tripping over herself fawning over him? So what if he did appreciate the fact he now had a conversation partner that could match his mind, or the fact that she had calmed down to the point where he could be comfortable around her? She didn't bite, she didn't drool, and she wasn't a fangirl, meaning he could sleep beside her without having to worry about being raped in his sleep unlike when he was with Karin (that girl was _insane_), but he could say that about anyone. Amaya didn't bite; Megumi didn't drool; so what made Haruno Sakura so special that she deserved to be coined 'pretty?'

Desperately, his mind searched for the answer, but after five minutes and a stream of curse-words that even Hidan didn't know, the only thing he had was a headache. He groaned.

'_It must be the fumes. That's it. It's the fumes in here. I just need some fresh air, maybe a bit of alone time, and I'll be fine,'_ he told himself tiredly. To be honest, it sounded like a good idea. He had been stuck in here for weeks now and he could never get farther than the conjoining art wing. Sure, he could always break through the chained doors to get some fresh air, but it would mean breaking the locks (it was too bothersome to pick them) and not only would security at the school be tightened, he'd have to explain to Kakashi and that was something he'd rather not do. The silver-haired man had acquired more of a sadistic streak since their arrival in this universe and harassing his roommates was the only thing he could think of doing to alleviate his boredom outside of training. Sure, he had his book, but since he'd read to the point of memorization, there was nothing else for the man to do, but pick on people. Recently, his favorite target was Sasuke.

'_That stupid man. Oh, he thinks I don't know, but I can tell. Help Naruto find that mouse he keeps complaining about, Sasuke. Retrieve the kunai from the tree, Sasuke. Do this. Do that. It doesn't help that he even stole my bed and now I'm stuck sleeping on the sink counter. "My back is hurting from sleeping on the floor." Like the table is any better, and I am not sleeping on the floor with the ants! Friggin' bug puss everywhere, not to mention the mice.' _

He sighed.

'_Look at me; I'm having a mental rant. God, I need to get out of here. Sure, I've been stuck with these people before, but at least I had a chance to get away from them every once in a while. Now I'm stuck with them 24/7. I need alone time! I have...things to take care of,'_ he thought, blushing slightly. Hey, it wasn't his fault he was a guy. Sakura was to blame as well. Damn her, damn her and her low cut clothing. Ever since they started to live together in this hellhole, every time she bent down to pick something up, he thought he'd have a heart attack. Like right now, for instance. Her chest was in his face.

"Sasuke!"

"Huh?" he replied intelligently as he looked up at her. Thank Kami she didn't notice where his eyes were at first. _'Don't look down. Don't look down. She's talking. Pay attention. As long as her mouth is moving, you have to pay attention…were her lips always that pouty?'_

Again, he mentally slapped himself. That was inappropriate. Was he always this foul-minded?

'_It's Naruto. Naruto, Kakashi, and that damned curse on the male kind known as puberty,'_ he thought angrily. Noting the silence reaching his ears, he looked up to see she was gone. Peering into the room below, he saw Amaya and Megumi had arrived with the people from before nowhere in sight before he found his eyes straying once more to Sakura. His eye began wandering over her form, taking in the spark in her eyes and sheen of her lips before travelling lower. A groan left his lips.

Oh yes, he definitely need some air.

* * *

"So what are we doing today?" Sakura asked the two girls before her as she toyed around with the wooden spoon in her hands, completely oblivious to the chaos behind her. Apparently, the infamous mouse Naruto had been stalking had crawled up Gaara's leg and the sand was starting to materialize around the red-head in a large looming cloud as Naruto proclaimed that he was (and to quote), "not crazy. See! I told you. You all said I was nuts and that I was just imagining things, but I was right! Ha! You owe me five bucks, teme!" Not to mention that Kakashi was throwing the various cheap plastic sporks from the adjoining cafeteria room at a very agitated Sasuke in an attempt to get the boy down and embedding said sporks a good two inches into the ceiling.

The two girls sweat-dropped. "Um, we're not making anything today…" they said with unease, wincing as the sand demolished a table and sent a metal mixing bowl clattering loudly on the floor. Looking up, they saw that Sakura was still smiling benignly and had to wonder just when the girl had been replaced with Sai.

"Huh? Why not?" she asked with the rest of the ninja wondering the same thing; Amaya smiled.

"Well, it's officially winter break. School's going to be closed for two weeks, so we decided not to bother with cooking today and just take a break."

"Then why did you even bother coming?" Sasuke asked.

"Because we need to figure out what to do with you guys. The school being closed, it means that you will have no food, no heat, and probably no running water for two weeks, and I don't want to have to come back to find five dead bodies," said Megumi.

"Actually, it'd probably be four dead bodies and me," Gaara said, slightly unnerving the rest of the group as they came to the realization that they might have been rooming with a cannibal this whole time. Kakashi cleared his throat.

"So what will we do? I personally wouldn't mind staying here for two weeks. It's better than most situations I've had."

"Well, the idea was that we find you somewhere else you could stay. We can't afford a hotel and my house is out since my stepmother wouldn't approve and bitch me out," stated Amaya.

"What about the woods behind the school?" Naruto asked.

"Taken. Apparently, some homeless people live there. Same in the park."

"Then where are we going to stay?" Sasuke asked.

"Well…there's always my house," Megumi suggested to everyone's surprise.

"Your house?"

"Yes. My house. Got a problem with that, Amaya?"

"No, it's just…no one goes to your house. If I remember correctly, the only person to ever sleep over at your house was your cousin and that was because of your little brother. Are you sure it's going to be okay?" she asked.

"Yeah. I live in the basement now and if my mom asks, I can always say I'm hosting foreign exchange students," Megumi replied with a shrug. Naruto grinned.

"Alright! Sleep over at Megumi's! I'll bring the ramen." And at that exact moment, a piece of the crumbling ceiling fell on Naruto's head, knocking the blonde unconscious and bringing a sigh to everyone's lips.

* * *

Click. Chack.

The sounds of the lock falling rung in their ears as Megumi locked the basement door behind her. The sound of heavy breathing echoed in the darkness around them along with the faint drumming of the washing machine.

"Okay guys. Watch where you step."

"Ow, what did I bump into?"

"Probably the exercise bike. Hold on; let me get the lights," Megumi said flicking the switch to her right and shedding light across her garage. "Well, here we are. My basement/garage," she said with pride. Ironic, seeing how it was just a small room full of paper towels, water bottles, and assorted canned goods; made even worse by the car and assorted desks stocked with boxes of junk and the aforementioned exercise bike. Sasuke scowled.

"Get off me, dobe," he snapped, angrily shoving the boy off of him causing Naruto to glare in return.

"Shut up, teme. Sakura, Sasuke-teme is being mean to me," he whined.

"Shut up, Naruto. It's your own fault for not watching where you were going."

"And you call yourself a ninja," Kakashi said sighing. Honestly, if he was going to be the next great Hokage, he should know these types of things and Kakashi was getting way too old to play baby-sitter for these kids.

"Shut up, old man!" Naruto shouted, unaware of the small tic appearing on Kakashi's head. Ouch, sore spot. And for Kakashi, no less.

"I am not old. I'm only in my thirties," he answered, a slight edge to the calm in his voice.

"Well, we're all in our teens, so technically, you are old!" Naruto screamed, unaware of the people watching the scene in silent horror and frustration as they chanted the same thoughts in their heads: _'Stop. Think about what you're dealing with—__**who you're dealing with!**__ He's angry. Can't you see he's angry? Naruto, you idiot, you've just signed your own death certificate and you don't even know it.'_

And as Naruto continued to rant, completely unaware of the looming threat just two feet away from him, the group sighed. Well, it was nice knowing him.

"Actually…I don't think Kakashi is old at all," Megumi stated, making everyone stare in her direction incredulously. "What?"

"You just said Kakashi-sensei wasn't old," said Naruto.

"Yes? And…?" Megumi asked.

"Megumi, even I think Kakashi-sensei is old," Sakura reasoned. Sasuke nodded his head in agreement.

"Sakura's right. He is old," Sasuke stated, knowing full-well that a death glare was seated between his shoulders. Hey, they all thought it. Might as well tell him and get it over with. They were going to be stuck with him until Kami-knows-when.

"Actually, with Hollywood stars in their twenties getting Botox, by Hollywood's standards, we're all old," Megumi reasoned, watching as each of her age-mates' faces slowly fell and they slowly learned what she had known all along: Time was irrelevant, age was stupid, and Hollywood had way too much time on their hands.

"Well, we're here," Megumi stated opening the door to her room and that was all the license Amaya needed to collapse at the dinner table. Today was exhausting: a bus ride from Hell, not to mention having to dodge all those questions on the way here. No, they were not the characters from Naruto; yes, they were going to a convention; no, his hair is really like that; no, you can't touch them; no, and get your hand off Gaara's gourd—it's his!

And with a sigh, Amaya flopped into a different position and looked around her. To be honest, this was the first time she had gotten a look at Megumi's new room since the last time she went to her house in sophomore year, she was still upstairs sharing a room.

_'Hmm…stove, fridge, pantry full of stuff, water bottles to my right, uncomfortable chair under my butt with three others from a matching set, old, slightly sticky table under face—gotta tell her to clean this later—and a sink.'_

"Make yourself at home. Amaya's done it already," Megumi stated dryly with a fold of her arms and a quirk of her brow. Amaya merely stuck her tongue out.

"I'm tired," she moaned, getting up her chair and collapsing on Megumi's side. A finger trailed the curve of her jaw. "It's all your fault, Megumi. Why did you do it last night?"

"What the heck are you talking about?" Megumi snapped, unaware of the eyes glued on their little scene.

"You know what I'm talking about. Why did you keep me up so late last night? Why did you punish me, Megumi-sama?" she pleaded in a husky voice as Naruto nodded excitedly, trickles of blood beginning to leak from his nose as Amaya brought her face to Megumi's. Megumi scowled.

"It was your fault, and being the masochist you are, you probably enjoyed it," she snapped, stunning their audience with their innuendo. What did they do last night? Even Gaara was curious.

"No, I didn't. It hurt. It hurt so bad," Amaya said, locking eyes with her scowling friend. Their audience waited with baited breath.

"Megumi, why did you block me?!" Amaya cried, shaking her disaffected friend, unaware of the stunned faces of their other-worldly friends. Sasuke coughed into his hand.

"Stop ogling, dobe," said Sasuke with a small blush, knowing he was exactly guilty of thinking the same thing. Then again, it was his fault to think they were actually in some illicit relationship when they had told them not too long ago that they weren't. _'Damn hormones! Damn hormones!' _

Slowly, the group made their way into the adjoining room that was Megumi's bedroom/living room. A television sat under the window across from the closet. To right of that was her bed, shoved up against the wall while on the other side sat her computer desk. Slinging her bag carelessly by the desk, she began the task of tidying up.

"Sorry, it's so messy. I know it's small. Um…find somewhere to put your stuff—Ow!" she cried as a book fell on her head. Angrily, she tossed it over her head where Kakashi picked it up.

"New Tastes in Green Tea," he read aloud, flipping through the book and immersing himself in it.

"She checks out a lot of cookbooks," Amaya said over his shoulder, popping out of nowhere. Kakashi gave a slight jump. How hadn't he sensed her presence?

'_I must be getting rusty.'_

"Megumi-chama loves cooking. That's why she has tons of cookbooks. See?" she said pointing to the knee-high stack of books in the corner. Kakashi raised his eyebrows. Was he surprised? Yes. Megumi didn't seem like the type to be a homemaker, but she had shown competency while cooking at school and thinking about it now, she would look absolutely lovely in an apron.

Hold, pause, rewind. One compliment did not deserve another, but now he was having trouble ridding himself of that image and his eyes were constantly flitting to the stack of books in the corner. He knew he shouldn't care about the fact that she liked to cook or the fact she had a stack of cookbooks in her room. He knew he shouldn't care that Amaya had mentioned that fact while Megumi was preoccupied with other things and would never hear of it or that she had disappeared as soon as she delivered her quip. He knew he shouldn't have the image of Megumi in an apron stuck in his mind or be staring at her like he was. He knew he shouldn't have been caring about such things, but he did, and now he was having trouble ridding himself of such thoughts.


End file.
